Sammy speaks about his taxing time!

Red-faced Roads Minister Sammy Wilson has ridden into trouble — after he was caught on his motorbike without MoT or TAX!

The Environment Minister — who has responsibility for road safety in Northern Ireland — was left stunned after Sunday Life asked him to explain his fine for driving his unlicensed Honda X4 on a PUBLIC road.

The motorbike lover admitted riding from his home in Larne to Belfast earlier this year.

The East Antrim MP — who owns five motorcycles — was caught by a Driver Vehicle Agency (DVA) detection camera on the Newtownards Road.

Mr Wilson told Sunday Life yesterday he was taking the bike to a garage to have it serviced for an MoT test four days later.

After receiving the £40 fine and ordered to pay back-tax for the vehicle, the DUP firebrand failed in a bid to have the fixed penalty dismissed.

Said the Roads Minister: “I am not denying the bike was on the road. I hope you’re not going to do a hatchet job on me.

“I remember passing the camera at the time and never thought anything about it to tell you the truth.

“I have another bike which has not been on the road for five years, but I’m scared stiff to drive it in case I get stopped again for driving without an MoT.

“The insurance covered me and there would have been more of an issue if I had been driving it, if it had failed the MoT.

“I wrote to the DVA about this. If I had been in Portrush or Enniskillen I could understand them asking me what I was doing there.

“But I gave them all the details about what I was doing driving to Belfast.”

He added: “I would be interested to know if they have exercised discretion in other examples because I’m sure I’m not the first person to be caught doing this.

“I suspect because I am the Roads Minister they abided by the letter of the law.

“This was not an oversight by me. I genuinely believed that it was perfectly legitimate for me to drive the bike to get it fixed for MoT.”

The Stormont Minister also believes current legislation on driving vehicles before they have been put through an MoT test

should be reviewed. He added: “I’m very annoyed with the stupidity of the rules. You can drive a vehicle if it has failed the MoT but you can’t drive it to the garage before it goes through the test.

ANNOYING

“The law states that I should have taken the bike on a trailer. I suspect there are thousands of bikers who would quite legitimately get their bikes on the road before they go for MoT.”

And the ex-Belfast Lord Mayor believes details of his fine was leaked by one of his own officials, adding: “It’s very annoying actually when someone from my department leaks this information to the media.

“Only the department would have known about this. If they leak something like this what’s to stop them leaking other information of a more sensitive nature.”

A Department of Environment (DoE) spokesman also confirmed her department’s top man had been fined.

She added: “A motorcycle registered to the Minister was detected by a Driver Vehicle Agency camera detection unit when it was on the road while unlicensed.

“The case was dealt with using standard procedures applied to all such detections and the appropriate penalty paid. The vehicle is now licensed.”

Earlier this year, the DUP man’s appointment as Environment Minister was branded a ‘mistake’ by a leading green campaigner.

John Woods of Friends of the Earth pointed to Mr Wilson's publicly-voiced scepticism about climate change, and said the new man in charge of the DoE has a “good deal to prove”.

The DUP politician also clashed with environmental activists over his support for nuclear power. He was even presented with a satirical ‘Green Wash’ award by young Green Party members.

As an East Antrim MLA, Mr Wilson has supported some controversial development proposals that party colleague Arlene Foster did not approve as Environment Minister.

Added Mr Woods: “I congratulate Sammy Wilson on his appointment but I believe it is a mistake.

“Mr Wilson is well-known for his sceptical views on climate change. It is difficult to see how a minister who holds such views in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence could be a credible protector of our environment.

“But the test will be how Sammy Wilson approaches his new responsibilities.”

The DoE launched a high profile campaign in 2006 to clamp down on untaxed vehicles. At the time, Driver Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland chief executive Brendan Magee said it was launched to remove illegal and unsafe vehicles from the roads.

He said: “This is not just about wheelclamping and removing untaxed cars. It is about fighting crime, stopping criminals and making the streets safer.

WARNINGS

“The message here is for the small hard core of evaders who have no intention paying tax, we will take your car. No more warnings.”

Although the overall rate of motor tax evasion was down from 5.4% to 5% in Northern Ireland, we still have the highest amount of motor tax evaders in the UK.

Mr Wilson is not the first senior DUP man to be punished for not paying his road tax.

First Minister Peter Robinson was jailed in 1987 for failing to pay his tax in protest at the Anglo Irish Agreement.

original article
belfasttelegraph