Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has been convicted of his second speeding offence.
He now faces a driving ban.
Mr Jenrick, 41, pleaded guilty after being caught diving at 68-mph along a 40-mph restricted section of the M1.
In mitigation Mr Jenrick said he did not know the road had a temporary speed limit.
He said stuck to 68-mph – still below the legal limit of 70-mph for an unrestricted motorway.
Mr Jenrick, MP for Newark, wrote to Northampton Magistrates’ Court:
“I would not have knowingly exceeded the speed limit in this manner.
“I can only sincerely apologise for having done so on this occasion.”
Mr Jenrick’s Land Rover was caught by police cameras on the southbound stretch of the M1, between junctions 18 and 19, just after 11.30pm.
He was returning from the BBC Radio 4 programme Any Questions coming from Wakefield Cathedral in West Yorkshire.
Mr Jenrick told the court:
“Please note by way of context that I was driving at 68mph on the M1 motorway, below the national speed limit of 70mph.
“At the late hour I was driving, the road was largely empty, and I do not recall there being roadworks.”
A police statement said: “The alleged speed exceeds that permitted for the matter to be dealt with by way of conditional offer of fixed penalty and was therefore accepted for prosecution.”
The case will come before the court again on April 4th when it will be decided what punishment he is to face.
It is the minister’s second speeding offence.
In March 2022 he was fined £307, and handed three penalty points, for speeding on the A40 in west London.
