Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding.
He was also fined a total of £1,639 for travelling at 68 mph in a temporary 40 mph zone.
The offence happened between junctions 17 and 18 on the M1 heading south.
The Minister was driving a Land Rover.
Mr Jenrick, the Immigration Minister, was returning from Wakefield after appearing on the BBC’s Radio 4 Any Questions.
The case was heard at Northampton Magistrates’ Court through a Single Justice Procedure.
This gives a magistrate power to hear the case in camera and the defendant does not need to appear.
After the hearing Mr Jenrick, 41, said:
“I accept the court’s decision.
“I was driving below the national speed limit on an empty motorway, with no road works in sight.
“I now understand that a variable speed limit had been applied, which I didn’t see.
“I wouldn’t knowingly exceed the speed limit.”
Mr Jenrick, MP for Newark, Nottinghamshire was fined £1,107 for speeding and ordered to pay a £442 victim surcharge and £90 in costs.
