by Conrad Landin
Scotland Editor

ANT McPARTLIN would have only paid £5,000 of his record £86,000 fine if he had been caught drink driving in Scotland, Labour pointed out today.

The £130,000-a-week television presenter, best known for his Ant & Dec partnership with Declan Donnelly, was handed an £86,000 fine alongside a 20-month driving ban after he admitted having more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream while driving in London in March.

But limits resulting from the “standard scale” of financial penalties mean that his offence carries a maximum £5,000 penalty in Scotland.

Scottish Labour said the courts should be allowed to impose larger fines in a bid to deter wealthier motorists.

The party’s justice spokesman Daniel Johnson said: “The stark reality is that for a case like TV presenter Ant McPartlin's, Scottish courts would only have been able to hand down a fine worth just 6 per cent of his eventual fine.

"While a fine of £5,000 would in most cases be an appropriate maximum, for those on higher incomes this may not act as any kind of deterrent.”

The number of drink-driving cases has fallen over the past 10 years but recently rose from 3,537 in 2015-16 to 3,646 the following year. A total of 2,851 fines were imposed as a result.

A Scottish government spokesman said: "We took action in 2014 to lower the drink-drive limit, so it is now lower than in England and Wales. However, specifically setting maximum penalties for drink-driving remains a matter reserved to the UK government.

"We keep the levels used on the standard scale under review, but at present there is no evidence indicating they need to be revised in Scotland.”