Former roads minister Guy Opperman has been banned from driving for six months after repeated speeding offences, despite arguing that losing his licence would cause exceptional hardship for his family.

The former Conservative MP for Hexham, 61, admitted driving his SUV at 25mph in a 20mph zone in Lambeth in May. The offence took his penalty points to 12; he already had nine from earlier speeding offences, also in 20mph zones.

At Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 13 November, Opperman said he needed to drive his children, aged two and four, to different nurseries. He said his wife needed to travel to the United States for work in March, leaving him to care for them alone, which would be difficult without a car.

“Clearly I feel great shame and guilt being here – I’m an idiot,” he said. “I’ve never been [to court] before, never committed anything in my life.” He added that he was “very much in the doghouse”.

Magistrates rejected his exceptional hardship argument. Chair Susan Polydorou said that, although the ban would be inconvenient, his circumstances did not meet the required threshold. She added: “You do seem to have a propensity to speed.”

The dispute concerned the consequences of disqualification, rather than whether he had committed the offence. Opperman accepted the speeding charge but argued that the effect on his childcare arrangements justified allowing him to keep driving. The magistrates found that insufficient.

He was ordered to pay £560: a £307 fine, £130 in prosecution fees and a £123 court surcharge.

Opperman served as minister for roads and local transport in Rishi Sunak’s government. London’s 20mph limits were introduced through a joint initiative involving local authorities, the Mayor of London and the Metropolitan Police to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster have the limits on all council-managed roads.

After the ruling, Opperman was reported to have cycled away from court.