Romeo Beckham fined for using phone behind wheel of Porsche 911

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Romeo Beckham fined for using phone behind wheel of Porsche 91110 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleDan SalesGetty ImagesRomeo Beckham was caught by police scrolling on his phone while behind the wheel of his Porsche, with a dog loose in the car, court papers have shown. Beckham, 23, was pulled over in Westminster last September after an officer saw him with both hands on his mobile, instead of the steering wheel, while at a red light in the Porsche 911 Carrera. The court papers revealed he had a female passenger, who was also on her phone and had the "unrestrained" dog on her lap.

Beckham was convicted last Thursday at Westminster Magistrates' Court of being a driver not in a position to have proper control. He was fined £440 and given three penalty points. Beckham banned for using phone in BentleyThe model, the son of Sir David and Victoria Beckham, was also ordered to pay £130 in costs and a £176 victim surcharge.

The Details

In a statement, the officer said Beckham was "distracted" and did not have proper control of the supercar. Metropolitan Police PC Luke Short saw him on 12 September last year, waiting at a red traffic light in Victoria Street, Westminster, just before 11:20 BST. "As I passed the vehicle on its nearside, I looked down to my right and noted that there was an unrestrained dog sitting on the female passenger's lap," he said in his written statement to the court.

"I looked across at the driver. I saw that he too had his head tilted down and appeared to be looking down at a mobile phone he was holding low in his lap, near the base of the steering wheel. "I could see that he was scrolling on the device with his thumbs.

"The officer pulled Beckham over and offered "words of advice" on the dog. Beckham was written to and given the chance to pay a fine and go on a driver awareness course to avoid criminal proceedings over the use of his phone, but did not respond. He was prosecuted through the single justice procedure, which handles driving offences in private hearings.

What Experts Say

He did not enter a plea to the charge when written to at his south-west London apartment and was convicted on police evidence last week. Details of the case only emerged on Wednesday. It comes almost seven years since his father Sir David was banned from driving for six months for using his mobile phone at the wheel.

He told the court in 2019 a ban would mean he would not be able to drive Romeo and his siblings Cruz and Harper to school.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.