Well...he was riding a rather tricked up BMW S1000RR and I did wonder if he'd been on a GS or something less sporty, whether he'd have just been given a stern talking to.
When we left the camp he went off like a scalded cat through Lyneham which is a 30. I did comment to my wife that maybe there was more to the story after seeing that but who knows.
The bottom line is that it is (apparently) an offence to use your phone whilst your keys are in the ignition.
I've googled it and couldn't get a definitive answer but probably better to be safe than sorry.