Bill of Suspension:- On 27 October 2009, the complainer signed a written intimation of his intention to plead guilty to a contravention of section 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. On 20 November 2009 at a pleading diet the plea of guilty was recorded and the court deferred sentence until 4 December 2009 for the personal appearance of the complainer given he was liable to be disqualified from driving. On 4 December 2009, the complainer was represented by a solicitor and after a plea in mitigation, the Sheriff imposed a fine of £660, discounted from £1,000 to reflect the plea of guilty, and disqualified the complainer from holding and obtaining a driving licence for a period of one year and thereafter until he had passed the extended driving test. The complainer sought separate legal advice "as he was shocked at the outcome of the case" as he had not obtained legal advice prior to his appearance in court other than a brief consultation with a solicitor as he was waiting outside court at his deferred sentence. In the bill of suspension presented the complainer maintained that he was not guilty of the charge of dangerous driving and that he tendered a plea of guilty in error, without the benefit of full and proper legal advice. It was submitted on behalf of the complainer that he did not understand the charge to which he was pleading guilty and that he had only been properly advised about that matter when he sought legal advice after the sentence had been imposed. It was submitted on behalf of the Crown that the charge on the complaint was unequivocal in its terms as was the letter sent to him by the Sheriff Clerk Depute. Here the court considered the current law in relation to when a plea of guilty may be withdrawn and what amounts to exceptional circumstances, for example where it is tendered by mistake or without the authority of an accused.