Too far, too fast: Ed Balls fined for ANOTHER driving offence, this time for jumping a red light near Parliament Labour's shadow chancellor given 3 penalty points and fined £350 Did not attend court - he was in the Commons attacking spending cuts He ignored red light on near Parliament at 10pm on December 10 By Chris Greenwood, Crime Reporter He likes to denounce the Government's spending reforms as "too far, too fast." But it was Ed Balls who has admitted speeding through a red light. As he stood up in the Commons to attack the Chancellor's latest plans, the Labour frontbencher's case came before magistrates two miles away. Horsepower: Ed Balls, caught on camera during a photocall promoting Hamleys most wanted toys for Christmas, has been fined for driving through a red light He was allowed to confess by letter to jumping a signal while driving his Ford Mondeo at 34mph in a 30mph zone just a few hundred metres from Parliament. Police brought his case to court, rather than let him pay a £60 fine and receive three points, because of the particularly long gap after the lights changed. But he escaped being prosecuted for speeding thanks to the convention that police only prosecute those travelling 10 per cent above the limit, plus 2mph. This must have come as a relief to the Morley and Outwood MP who highlighted the dangers of speeding just two months ago after being caught travelling too fast on a motorway. He said the experience made him determined to get more 20mph limits after he realised the chances of a pedestrian dying increase dramatically with speed. Busy: Labour's shadow chancellor was in the Commons attacking government cuts while his case for jumping a red light was heard by magistrates On Wednesday Mr Balls, 46, was ordered to pay £450, made up of a fine, court costs and a victim surcharge after his lawyer said he was distracted by roadworks. City of London Magistrates" Court was told Mr Balls ignored the red light on London's Embankment at 10pm on December 10 last year. Photographs showed Mr Balls driving past the light in his green 1.8 litre family car at 34mph some 1.6 seconds after it went red. Official guidelines state that anyone who drives through a red light more than 1.4 seconds after it changes must be prosecuted. Too fast: The Labour heavyweight admitted a running through the red signal while driving his Ford Mondeo at 34mph in a 30mph zone just a few hundred metres from Parliament Mr Balls did not have attend the courthouse - located directly in front of the Bank of England - to answer the charge. Instead he was in Westminster to hear George Osborne set out £11.5billion in extra spending cuts, and pleaded guilty in a letter sent through his lawyers, Thompson Solicitors. In mitigation they wrote: "There were roadworks on Victoria Embankment on the night in question, leading to the closure of the road just ahead of the traffic lights - with all traffic being diverted. However, our client accepts he went through the traffic light in question. Distracted: Mr Balls admitted running the red light, but blamed roadworks on the Victoria embankment for distracting him Prosecutor Varinder Hayre said the Labour politician had previously had a clean driving licence. Balls, who gave his constituency address in Castleford, West Yorkshire, to the court, admitted a single count of failing to comply with a red traffic light. Chair of the bench Victoria Fraser ordered the MP to pay a £350 fine, plus £85 towards prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge. The penalty is the latest in a string of recent driving misdemeanours, but the first time that Mr Balls" licence has been endorsed with three points. Opponent: Mr Balls' case was heard at City of London Magistrates¿ Court on the same day as Chancellor George Osborne unveiled £11.5bn in extra spending cuts In April, he said he was "bang to rights" after being caught travelling at 56mph in a 50mph zone on the motorway in his West Yorkshire constituency. On that occasion he paid a fine and attended a speed awareness course rather than accept penalty points. He described the speed awareness course at a Holiday Inn as "very professional and actually really worthwhile." He added: "I paid my fine and chose to attend a speed awareness course. I currently have no points on my licence and would like to keep it that way. Speaking about 20mph limits, he added: "What hit home were the statistics which link speed to car deaths. At 20mph, less than 10 percent of people will lose their lives if hit by a car. But the probability rises exponentially, going above 40 percent at 40mph. Three years earlier, Mr Balls was caught using his mobile phone behind the wheel on a dual carriageway near Milton Keynes and fined £60. He apologised for the lapse which he called a "fair cop" and claimed he did not want to use the hands free as his three children were sleeping in the back. Of course I am sorry about it - it was a stupid thing to do, but that happens from time to time, and I deeply regret it," he said. But he escaped three points - and had later had his cheque returned - after the authorities inexplicably lost his licence and the paperwork. Mr Balls once described his beloved Mondeo as the most expensive thing he has ever bought, besides property. In 2011, he complained that the cost of filling the family car had risen from £50 to more than £74 and called on the Government to cut fuel prices.