Dumbass of the Day

When you're going to be a scold and wag your finger at people, just make sure you don't get snagged doing that which you've condemned.

At the same time, we are dealing with a politican here, so a heaping helping of hypocrisy is par for the course.

Home Office minister who dubbed irresponsible drivers 'potential serial killers' fined for using his mobile while driving

A Home Office minister who dubbed irresponsible drivers "serial potential killers" has gained a criminal record after admitting using his mobile phone behind the wheel.

Liam Byrne was fined £100 and given three penalty points after pleading guilty at Sutton Coldfield Magistrates' Court to using his mobile phone while driving.

His explanation that he was taking an important call on a deportation matter was rubbished by road safety campaigners, who said he should have known better.

The minister's guilty plea is embarrassing enough to the Government, which has been leading a crackdown on similar offenders.

But it is all the more humilitiating for Mr Byrne, one of Labour's rising stars, because he has campaigned on road safety ever since entering Parliament in 2004.

The Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill once told a parliamentary committee that the most dangerous drivers were "serial potential killers" and said he was "shocked" at the leniency of sentences handed down to them.