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'I'm Harriet Harman, you know where you can get me', says deputy leader after car crash
Harriet Harman, Labour’s deputy leader, is to be questioned by the police after allegedly failing to stop at the scene of a traffic accident.
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Miss Harman, who is also Leader of the House of Commons, was reported to have clipped a parked car while driving at the same time as using a mobile phone.
The crash is said to have taken place in Dulwich, south London, in July. Miss Harman was driving her private car, a red Ford Fiesta. No one was injured.
After the incident, Miss Harman, who is a QC, was reported to have stopped but failed to provide full details of her licence and insurance, as the law requires.
A witness to the incident was reported to have said Miss Harman wound down her window and said: "I'm Harriet Harman, you know where you can get me."
After the Cabinet minister left the scene, Metropolitan Police traffic officers arrived and started an investigation. The police are expected to question Miss Harman as part of that inquiry.
On Sunday, Miss Harman refused to comment on the incident, but issued a statement denying any wrongdoing.
The 1988 Road Traffic Act says that anyone involved in a road crash must stop and exchange details with other drivers involved.
If a driver does not pass on details at the time of the incident, they must report it to the police instead.
The incident took place on July 3 this year, the same day a fire in a block of flats in Miss Harman’s Peckham constituency killed six people including a child.
Miss Harman, the MP for Peckham since 1982, visited the scene of the fire on the day.
Anyone found guilty of careless driving can be punished with a fine of up to £2,500 and up to nine penalty points on their licence.
Drivers caught using a mobile phone receive an automatic three points and a fixed £60 fine.
This is not the first time Miss Harman’s motoring has attracted attention.
In 2003, when she was solicitor general in Tony Blair’s government., she was banned from driving for seven days and fined £400 after she was caught driving at 99mph on the M4 in Wiltshire.
Four years later, she was sent a court summons after missing a deadline to pay a £60 fixed-penalty notice after being caught driving at 50mph in a 40mph zone on the A14 in Suffolk.
Scotland Yard on Sunday confirmed that officers are investigating the incident and will be speaking to Miss Harman about it.
A police spokesman said: “We can confirm we are investigating a minor traffic collision in Dulwich which took place on 3 July 2009.
“We are in the process of taking statements from all the parties concerned. No injuries were reported. Enquiries continue”
A spokeswoman for the Labour deputy leader declined to discuss the incident in detail, saying only: "Ms Harman strongly refutes the allegations but is cooperating fully with the police."
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