To think there is one law for Freddie Flintoff and one law for (almost) everyone else

Speechless!

I'm so tired of these celebrities getting away with breaking the law. He's a reasonably intelligent man who must know the rules, but he just disregards them anyway!
What happened to justice?

Money is the root of all evil................... if you've got enough of it!

There's plenty of people, men usually, who are getting away with this by getting their wives to take the points. So long as the judge made it quite clear that this excuse is not going to be accepted in future I'm not too bothered.

He does do a lot of charity work.

Couldn't he sell the Bentley and use the money for a taxi? I regularly use the M6, I don't fancy meeting up with him on a foggy, icy day! X

This is wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to start....he is worth at least £9m - that would buy a lot of chauffeurs for starters. Why on earth was his MBE and the fact that he played for England brought up - even if the solicitor didn't want to dwell on it? What has his charity work to do with it? Throwing in his children's privacy was a cheap shot. And finally, I suppose if the JPs concerned had their dc or dgc injured or killed by him next time (and there will be a next time) he speeds , they'd shrug their shoulders and say 'well he does a lot of charity work and he did play for England'

Any JPs on GN care to tell us what exceptional circumstances is supposed to mean?

Aka - what was to stop him doing his charity work??

The totting up of 12 points in 3 years is for a reason, he'd had warnings hadn't it?

I don't understand your question G2, please explain.

The one about charity work I mean.

He could carry on doing his charity work by using a chauffeur who he could well afford to pay. The same chauffeur could have ferried his dc around to protect their privacy. Also when he's away working and raising money, who drives his dc around then? His solicitor, who is also a barrister, has defending sportspeople on road traffic charges ( for that read speeding) as one of his specialisms . Honestly, Aka, I know we often disagree on many matters but I didn't have you down as someone who thought it was acceptable for the rich and famous to get such preferential treatment for absolutely no good reason whatsoever.

This makes me incandescent with rage, not just because of the injustice of someone famous with money getting away with a serious crime, but because speeding is not always seen as the serious crime that it is. Old boy cricketing network on the bench I guess. Finger in throat emoticon.

I only commented that he does do a lot of charity work. Nothing more.

The more important point I made is that a lot of people DISHONESTLY shift their points onto their partners. That makes for a lot of 'ordinary people' who are just as bad, if not worse, as they are being dishonest as well as speeding.

Well I don't know who you mix with but I don't know anyone who has shifted points and anyway, what's the argument you're making? Because some/ many people do worse things than getting 12 speeding points in 3 years, then we shouldn't treat honest speeders so harshly especially if they can afford hot shot barristers, have MBEs, do charity work and played for England

Expect the chair of the bench will be ok now for tickets to Lords

I agree that this is quite bizarre. I have no dea what the (provincial) bench were thinking of. And looking at the sentencing guidelines it would seem that exceptional circumstances have not been proved.

However, I don't think it's appropriate to insinuate that the Chair of the Bench may be corrupt. Unwise, star struck, maybe. But not corrupt.

And in any event the Bench is made up of three people. He may have been outvoted by the wingers.

Depends how you define corrupt I guess. Someone who allows a defendant's fame and riches to deflect him/her from justice - sounds pretty corrupt to me.

The special circumstances were about as flimsy as it can get; and his previous history tells us a great deal about how he regards breaking traffic laws. It would have been good to get him off the road. The person whom he hits while driving too fast might be your or my lived one.

I always thought the law was the law and one had to abide by it - or else! But apparently that only applies if you are Joe or Josephine Blogs. If you are a so called celebrity you can get away with a sob story

Well, I have acquired a speeding ticket this week - doing 37 in a 30 zone. I'm toying with the idea of pleading that I contributed to the Ice Bucket Challenge, or just biting the bullet and doing the speed awareness course. Either way, I can't see any special circumstances getting me out of it.

But MiceElf, I am just so weary of the inequalities before the law. I am weary of guilty people who can afford expensive barristers whilst legal aid is not available in the most heart wrenching cases for those with few means. I am weary of the establishment and the unfair advantages it offers to its members. I am weary of the honours system and charitable work giving people kudos whilst they engage in immoral ( if not illegal) tax avoidance schemes. God knows what possessed at least 2 of the bench to decide as they did- don't they get training in not being star struck or convinced by silver tongued expensive barristers? Don't they understand that wealth, and he has real substantial assets, mean that most hardship can be alleviated. So I made a cheap shot about tickets to Lords - perhaps the truth is worse - it's just all about inequality and privilege. It's a good week isn't it from this admittedly small example to other far more serious examples of how so-called justice in our society operates so differentially?

And - so much for the privacy of his children, they have done Hello photo shoots and there is no way on this earth that his wife doesn't drive and/ or they have a nanny who doesn't .

You've obviously lived a sheltered life G2

The point I've made twice has obviously GOYH

Oops...too many 'obviouslys' ... obviously.