David Anthony Burton v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, a driving instructor whose name was on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors, accepted a Fixed Penalty Notice and an endorsement of 6 penalty points for a CU80 offence, using a handheld mobile phone while driving, committed on 28 October 2025. He was driving his wife's car, which carried no instructor livery, when he picked up his ringing phone. He had not realised that the hands-free facility was disconnected. He had been stopped in traffic for about ten minutes, and he answered because he thought the call was from his elderly mother, for whom he was the main carer. The caller was his wife, and they spoke for 18 seconds. A member of the public photographed him, and the matter reached the police. He reported the offence to the Registrar himself and made written representations on 22 and 29 December 2025. On 5 January 2026 the Registrar decided under section 128(2)(e) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to remove his name from the Register, on the ground that he was no longer a fit and proper person. He appealed to the First-tier Tribunal on 18 January 2026. He relied on his acceptance of responsibility, a clean driving record of about twenty years, extensive character references, and the hardship that removal would cause to him, his family and his pupils. The appeal was heard by CVP on 24 August 2026.