Jack straw has to learn to drive all over again

London: He was the ultimate New Labour political survivor, a wily operator who negotiated the twists and turns of the Blair and Brown Governments to serve 13 years in the Cabinet.

But adjusting to life after more than a decade of being chauffeured everywhere has left Jack straw flummoxed by the rules of the road so the former Home secretary is learning to drive again.

The Mail on Sunday understands that Straw, MP for Blackburn, is undertaking a driving refresher course and has also received coaching from a senior Labour colleague on coping with motorway driving.

Last night a friend of Straw said: "Jack was pretty much driven everywhere for 13 years. He did a spot of driving on minor roads to run the odd errand but not much else."

Advanced years

Perhaps wisely, he is taking some refresher lessons for driving on motorways and in big cities, that sort of thing. Perhaps Straw worries about breaking one of his own laws in 2009, as Justice secretary, he announced that the maximum penalty for reckless driving would be more than doubled from a two-year jail term to five years' imprisonment.

The change in the law led to a rise in the number of drivers particularly those of advanced years opting to take refresher lessons.