Best-selling novelist Frederic Forsyth, 84, accused the Metropolitan Police of ‘locking up an old codger’ like the Stasi in an angry letter to magistrates – after officers caught him speeding in a 30mph zone.
Mr Forsyth was hit with a £60 fine, £24 victim surcharge and £16 costs which he says he paid but a Met administrative error ‘invalidated the settlement’
Best-selling novelist Frederick Forsyth accused the ‘Stasi-like’ Metropolitan Police of ‘hunting down an old codger’ in an angry letter to a court after he was caught speeding.
Mr Forsyth, 84, was caught driving seven miles an hour over the 30mph limit on the A40 near Paddington Green in October last year. He said he pleaded guilty to the crime and paid the fine with time limits.
However, in a letter to the court, the author claims that the force has now accused him of forgetting to include his driving license number on the forms which he says is ‘not true’. The force alleged that its ‘settlement was invalid’ due to this error and referred its case to a magistrate.
Mr Forsyth, a former spy, condemned the force, arguing that the East German secret service would have been ‘jealously cherished’ if it had the ‘surveillance powers of the Met’.
He also questioned why officers were so focused on his speeding tickets when they policed ’500 unsolved thefts in the capital’.
Frederick Forsyth (pictured in 2019) accused ‘Stasi-like’ Metropolitan Police of ‘hunting down an old codger’ after he was caught speeding in angry letter to court
In a letter to the court, (pictured) he claimed the Met accused him of forgetting to include his driving license number on forms which he said were ‘not true’.
The letter, dated May 3 this year, was addressed to ‘Mr Stipendiary’ – referring to a paid magistrate.
The journalist-turned-spy said he was ‘sorry’ for taking up the officer’s ‘valuable time’ but was left with ‘no alternative’ due to the Met’s alleged actions, which he believed were too many surveillance powers and misplaced priorities.
‘Fifty years ago, being bilingual in German, I would have walked through the Berlin Wall for the firm’s work,’ Mr Forsyth wrote in the letter which appeared to have been written on a typewriter.
‘The East German stasis would be salivating with envy if they had the Met’s surveillance powers today. So there’s enough time for 500 unsolved thefts in a capital, with staff and staff to hunt down an old coder driving 7 mph over the limit. As Huxley remarked; Ah brave new world!!’
The author said he ‘regretted’ taking up the officer’s ‘valuable time’ but had ‘no choice’ due to the Met’s actions.
He explained that he was ‘unaware’ that the speed rating had dropped to 30mph when cameras caught him going 37mph on October 31 last year.
‘Overhead gantry cameras have changed my speed rating from 40mph to 30mph on my little run at 37mph on an urban motorway. I just missed the mark.’
He pleaded guilty but is now upset by the Met’s allegations that he made a paperwork error.
Mr Forsyth was caught on a speed camera doing seven miles an hour over the 30mph limit on the A40 near Paddington Green in October last year. He pleaded guilty to the crime and paid a fine with time limits (stock photo)
‘The Met discovered a fault which they say was mine. Not true – it was theirs. They claimed my driving license number was not in the form. Not true,’ he wrote.
Alleged ‘administrative errors’ resulted in his settlement being overturned and the case referred to court.
Mr Forsyth, accused of including a photocopy of the form with his driving license number present, asked the court to ‘re-impose the original fine’ – which he said he would pay immediately.
He added: ‘But please no court costs, as I have not imposed any; Matt’s fault, not mine.’
Mr Forsyth was tried in a single trial and sentenced last month without a court hearing, the Telegraph reported.
He was hit with a £60 fine, £24 victim surcharge and £16 costs. He also received three penalty points on his driving licence.