Mot failure cert

An MOT is valid for 12 months (+/- anniversary) that doesn't change if you present it early and get a fail. The old MOT is still valid as far as ANPR and Taxing the vehicle is concerned. However, if you chose to drive the vehicle knowing it has a fault, and you don't really have a defence as an official document has been presented to you to that effect, then you are breaking the law. Not the law of driving a vehicle without an MOT, the law which states you must not knowingly drive a defective vehicle.

No, I'm afraid you're mistaken (as are many!). What changed is how easy it is to find out the result of a test, its now publicly available. Before it was public it was more hassle than it was worth to check up on these things. Now, its so easy to check that you stand a far greater chance of being caught out.

The government has updated its guidelines warning motorists that they face prosecution if they drive their car following an MOT failure – even if its previous test hasn’t expired.

Some drivers put their car in for an MOT early to find out if any faults need repairing, mistakenly thinking they can use the vehicle until the old test runs out.this what I rememberedmm

DVSA need to tidy all this confusion up for the public at large with an impossible common sense solution like the current practices we already have 

Just to add that with, or without, an MOT certificate driving an unroadworthy vehicle is and always has been an offence as Aylesburyjock says.
Not knowing about the fault could be used as a defence in court which might work, or might not. But if you actually have been told about the defect(s) then that defence is gone.

as mentioned above the only change is that a modern computer system(!)gives access to whether you knew/were informed about the fault,wasnt the case with the manual paperwork days when you could plead ignorance and no one knew otherwise,its always been an offence to knowingly drive a vehicle with a defect of which youre aware its just that its now possible to prove it.ok so you could make a case for a company motor that if it was tested and you didn't know about the defect and they did then they would be liable and its unlikely to ever be an issue unless you had lets say an accident caused by said defect/s or its a minor item like sidelight out when youre driving in daylight but its not a grey area and never has been.

Love thy neighbour.

My neighbours don't love me much on here, I've only got 299 likes 

Has nobody ever told you the world doesn't love a smartarse?