MP demands clampdown on 'ghost' number plates
Sarah Coombes, who represents West Bromwich, wants the penalties increased to tackle illegal licence plates which are being used by some motorists to run red lights and ignore speed limits.
Motorists can buy so-called 'ghost' or 'stealth' plates for as little as £30. They reflect light back, preventing the registration number from being clearly seen by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
The Labour MP wants the fine for being caught with a non-compliant number plate increased to £1,000 and at least six penalty points.
Currently, drivers caught with one can be fined £100. That compares to the minimum penalty for speeding which is a £100 fine and three penalty points.
"There are a select minority of people who think they are above the law. The behaviour of a few reckless drivers is putting us all at risk. The punishments need to be tougher," she said.
The scale of number plate misuse is unclear but one estimate suggests around 1 in 15 plates could be modified in some way.
One police exercise conducted in London found that 40% of taxi and private hire vehicles had coatings applied to their plates that made them unreadable to ANPR cameras.
Tony Porter, the UK's former surveillance camera commissioner, said: "ANPR and the humble number plate is hot-wired into the UK's road safety.
"If people think, by doctoring their plates, they can speed, drive without due care or without insurance to evade prosecution - then we need to remove this temptation. Innocent members of the public are being put at risk."
Ms Coombes is putting forward her plan in the Commons on Wednesday using a 10-minute rule motion. But unless it gets government support the idea is unlikely to progress into law.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for The AA, said: "Drivers manipulating their number plates in any way is a serious offence.
"While steps are needed to tackle the root cause of the problem, some feel that a lack of traffic police increases their chances of getting away with such activity."
A government spokesperson said: "This government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the number of those killed and injured on our roads.
"Since the general election, the Labour government has begun work on a new road safety strategy, the first in over a decade. Ministers will share more details of the strategy in due course."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Labour must speed up plans to shut all asylum hotels, says party's red wall chief
Labour must shut down all asylum hotels 'a lot quicker' than its current plan to put a stop to them by the end of the current parliament in 2029, the chairman of the party's red wall group of MPs has said. Jo White, the MP for Bassetlaw, who leads a caucus of around 40 MPs in the party's traditional heartlands, said Chancellor Rachel Reeves ' plan to axe the use of asylum hotels by 2029 needed to be sped up. There are currently around 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels around the UK. Anti-migrant demonstrations last week outside one of those hotels, in Epping, led to more than a dozen arrests. The hotel was thrust into the spotlight after a man living there was charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. The man, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and remains on remand in custody. Ms White told The Telegraph: 'There's a commitment to close down the hotels by the end of the parliamentary term. I think we all want it to be a lot, lot quicker than that.' 'There is a huge sense of unfairness because people work hard here in this country and commit to supporting the country and then there's the sense that what asylum hotels cost is a huge drag on what should be invested into our NHS, our schools and our infrastructure. 'So they have to close, we have to get those asylum hotels cleared out.' She added that she believes Labour ministers share her frustrations and went on to urge Sir Keir Starmer to 'stop the incentives' for those seeking to reach the UK illegally. A record 24,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, the highest tally for the first half of the year since records began in 2018. It represents a 48 per cent rise compared to the first six months of last year. Ms White welcomed home secretary Yvette Cooper 's plan to share asylum‑hotel locations with food‑delivery firms, calling it a sensible measure to crack down on illegal working. She also urged Sir Keir Starmer and Ms Cooper to revisit the idea of national identity cards, a proposal repeatedly ruled out by Downing Street. Reflecting on last week's demonstrations in Epping, however, she described the scenes as 'really frightening and quite scary', adding that while anger is understandable, violence against asylum seekers could not be condoned. It was revealed last week that plans to reduce the number of asylum hotels could see migrants rehoused in vacant residential properties and council‑owned homes. Public concern over the scheme has intensified as Sir Keir has vowed to significantly reduce both legal and illegal migration. At the same time, more than 40,000 failed asylum seekers remain in limbo, having appealed against their decisions and still requiring housing. A government spokesman said that since taking office, ministers had acted immediately to fix the asylum system, closing hotels and removing over 35,000 people with no right to be here.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Keir Starmer accused of failing in his mission to 'smash the gangs' as figures show only a tiny fraction of small boat migrants are prosecuted - as the Tories say the smugglers have 'never had it easier'
Keir Starmer was last night accused of failing in his mission to 'smash the gangs'. Figures show that just a tiny fraction of migrants crossing the Channel are being brought to justice. Since Labour 's leader became Prime Minister last July, only 446 people have been charged with any immigration offence, figures published by Parliament have revealed. Over the same period, a record 43,309 migrants have reached Britain after crossing the Channel in more than 700 dinghies. This comes despite Sir Keir vowing to tackle the illegal migration crisis by scrapping Rwanda deportations and focusing on tougher law enforcement instead. The number of those charged includes some offences not related to Channel crossings, so the number of small boat migrants prosecuted was even lower. There were 153 people charged between last July and this June with the key offence of 'assisting entry of illegal immigrant', which is intended to be used against those piloting each vessel, but Labour insisted the numbers have increased on their watch from 118 in the previous 12 months. Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick said: 'Keir Starmer boasted he would smash the gangs, but the gangs are laughing at him. They've never had it easier and crossings are up 50 per cent as a result. We're now heading towards being the illegal immigration capital of Europe. 'It's clear Starmer is incapable of stopping the boats and his backbenchers don't want him to. The country cannot go on like this. 'Those that arrive illegally from the safety of France must be swiftly deported so the message is clear: if you break into Britain, you will not get a life here.' He obtained the new figures in Parliamentary written questions after asking ministers how many gangs had been smashed since Labour came to power. In a Commons clash this month, he asked Shabana Mahmood: 'Can the Justice Secretary [Ms Mahmood] tell us how many individuals have been prosecuted for smuggling people in on small boats?' She replied: 'I do not have those figures directly to hand, but I am sure that if they are available, I can write to him with the details.' He accused her of not having 'a clue' about 'one of the biggest challenges facing our country right now' but she shot back 'had he paid any attention, he would know that prosecutions do not fall to the Ministry of Justice; they are dealt with independently through the Crown Prosecution Service'. Latest Home Office figures show another 1,387 people have reached Britain in small boats since last Thursday, taking the total for the calendar year so far to 23,891. A Labour spokesman said: 'Robert Jenrick can reinvent himself as many times as he likes, but he cannot rewrite history. 'With Labour in office, more people were charged with assisting unlawful immigration in our first year in government than in the entire time that Jenrick was in charge of the Immigration System. 'Indeed, we charged more people with that offence in our first three months than he managed in his last six. 'But much more important than Robert Jenrick's failures in the past are the ones he is making now, and we don't just mean screwing up this attempted attack story against Labour. 'If he was truly serious about prosecuting dangerous people smugglers, he would not have voted against our new law to criminalise people who endanger the lives of others in the Channel, and would instead be supporting us to take that action against those who cause women and children to suffocate and drown on overcrowded small boats.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Leader Live
Corbyn throws his weight behind striking Birmingham bin workers
A day after Birmingham City Council said it had launched contempt of court proceedings against the Unite trade union over the all-out strike which began in March, Mr Corbyn said central government was underfunding local authorities. Addressing more than 100 workers and other protesters at a 'mega-picket' event outside a council refuse depot in the Tyseley area, the MP for Islington North, told the crowd: 'It wasn't the Birmingham bin workers that spent ludicrous amounts of money on the Commonwealth Games. 'And it wasn't the bin workers who created any of the problems that Birmingham faces. They are the people that keep this city clean. 'I am here today to support you but also to make this point. 'Birmingham is not isolated and Birmingham is not alone – the financial issues that affect Birmingham are actually there in almost every local authority in the country, particularly in the big urban cities. 'And those problems are that they have not enough money. The Government is not spending enough money on local government.' Mr Corbyn warned: 'Local government services are under pressure and in many cases, even without the Birmingham model, still facing cuts. 'If we win in Birmingham and they are not allowed to cut wages, not allowed to destroy conditions, not allowed to damage the working rights of bin workers, that's a huge victory. 'But if we lose, think which city is going to be next. 'That is the point. And so I say to the wider community – get behind the Birmingham bin workers.' The second, so-called mega-picket, with speakers from other trade unions, following a similar event in May, involved members of 26 organisations protesting at fives sites in Birmingham and Coventry on Friday. The city council said on Thursday night that it had had 'persistent evidence' of a breach of a court order previously agreed with Unite. A city council spokesperson said: 'We are taking this step to ensure the safety of our city and the safety of our workforce, including those who are on strike. 'Our injunction prevents the blocking of our refuse collection vehicles, both at our depots and on the streets. Despite writing repeatedly to Unite for several weeks to highlight what we believe to be clear breaches of the injunction, the situation has worsened. 'Since the injunction was granted, vehicles have been blockaded on roads to and from our depots, with Unite representatives and members stepping in front of, and even leaning against, moving heavy vehicles and blocking road junctions.' A Unite spokesperson said: 'The court application is the latest distraction from the real task of resolving the ongoing dispute. 'The court papers will be subject to a careful review and the interests of Unite and our members will be fully represented at any future hearing.' Speaking after his speech, Mr Corbyn urged the leader of Labour-run Birmingham City Council, John Cotton, not to dig himself into a hole and to settle the dispute. Mr Corbyn said: 'There has to be a settlement and they should not be facing a wage cut. 'We just don't need to stretch this thing out.' Asked what his message to Mr Cotton would be, he added: 'John, get a deal. Get a settlement, get the bin workers back to work. 'And remember, a lot of the public support the bin workers even though obviously it (the strike) does create difficulties.'
