Celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman, known as Mr Loophole, has admitted he is a hypocrite after he refused to help his daughter beat a speeding ticket to make sure she learned her lesson.

Mr Freeman, who lives in Cheshire, says he could have found a way for Sophie, 19, to avoid getting a fine and points on her licence. But he admitted that accepting the punishment would help teach her to drive safely.

Mr Freeman has famously worked on behalf of celebrity clients - including Sir Alex Ferguson, Jeremy Clarkson and Colin Montgomerie and David Beckham – to help them avoid fines and penalty points after being accused of motoring offences including speeding.

Sophie, who is due to start a degree in philosophy at Leeds University in two weeks time, was driving back home from the family's apartment in Abersoch, north Wales, when she was caught on a speed check camera doing 63mph in a temporary 50mph zone.

She was driving a MINI cabriolet registered to her father's law firm at the time and a letter arrived at the company's offices days later stating that its driver faced a £60 fine and three licence points.

Mr Freeman writes exclusively about the incident in his MEN column today.

He writes: “Mr Loophole the lawyer was in conflict with Mr Loophole the dad.

“Do I follow my legal instinct and home in on a potential technicality? Or do I let my daughter learn the hard way?

“And no, I didn't relent and stump up the £60 either.

“By the way, just to save the M.E.N postman's back, I'm a hypocrite. I know.”

Sophie, who has just completed a gap year travelling in south east Asia and until recently had a job as a waitress and barmaid, says that she will pay the fine out of her own savings.

She has been driving for 18 months and says that while she accepts that she was speeding, she doesn't consider herself to be a fast or dangerous driver.

The road in question, she adds, was one that she was familiar with and one which normally had a '60 or 70mph limit'.

She said: “My dad hasn't really given me a firm telling off yet, although I suspect that will come.

“I understand why he has opted not to help me and that he wants me to be a safe driver.”