Mr Burnham was ordered by a court to pay nearly £2,000 in fines, charges and costs and given six penalty points.

As first reported by the Manchester Evening News, he was travelling on the M62 towards Liverpool last July.

In a statement, Mr Burnham accepted he was "going too fast".

He said: "On the night in question, I was travelling home on the M62 westbound in normal motorway conditions intending to come off at Junction 10 for the M6.

"When I got close to the junction, it became clear it had recently been closed and I had to re-route quickly back onto the main motorway."

'Accept court's decision'

Mr Burnham said he was "not aware of any variable speed limit in place on the smart motorway at the time" and only found out about it when the letter notifying him arrived in the post.

"If I had been aware, I would not have been travelling at that speed," he added.

"That said, I acknowledge that, at 78 mph, I was going too fast and accept the court's decision."

Andy Burnham was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017 before being re-elected for a second term in May 2021.

The mayor has responsibilities around the governance and budgets relating to Greater Manchester Police.

According to the website for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the mayor is the public's voice on policing matters, taking on the responsibilities of the police and crime commissioner.