Sadiq Khan‘s conviction for failing to tax a vehicle registered in his name has been formally withdrawn today after he became the victim of a scam.
The conviction and subsequent fine were annulled after a request by the DVLA at Hereford Magistrates’ Court.
Yesterday it emerged that Lord Khan had been fined under the controversial single justice procedure (SJP) over neglecting to tax a 24-year-old Nissan Micra.
However, City Hall officials said he had been ‘the victim of a scam’ involving false vehicle registrations and the car does not belong to either the mayor or Transport for London (TfL).
A spokesperson for his office said: ‘This is a scam, which is a crime. It’s not the first time the mayor has been victim of a scam involving people falsely stating that Sadiq is the owner of a vehicle. Such behaviour is illegal, and the DVLA are aware.’
In a magistrates’ court hearing at Hereford Justice Centre on Thursday, the case was formally reopened against the mayor and withdrawn by a panel of magistrates after a request from the DVLA.
Neither the mayor nor a representative from the DVLA were present at the court for the one-minute hearing.
The legal advisor told the panel of magistrates they may be aware of the case as it was ‘widely publicised’ on Wednesday, adding: ‘The DVLA have requested that the original matter, if you consider it to be reopened, be marked withdrawn.’
Sadiq Khan’s conviction for failing to tax a vehicle registered in his name has been formally withdrawn today
Chairwoman of the bench Mrs Digings JP said: ‘We accept the reopening of the case as requested.
‘Further to the request from the DVLA, we are going to mark the matter as withdrawn.’
The conviction followed a campaign by furious motorists up in arms about policies including the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) being expanded to all of Greater London.
A group of drivers had pledged to register their cars in Lord Khan’s name in a bid to have any fines for entering the zone sent to him.
The mayor, 55, was found guilty by a magistrate last month of keeping an unlicensed vehicle in a criminal prosecution brought by the DVLA.
Court records show he was prosecuted after the annual tax on the blue Nissan Micra, which was first registered in 2002, ran out in September last year.
The DVLA accused Lord Khan of being the keeper of the vehicle when it was spotted as being untaxed on January 24, telling the court that his name and date of birth appear against the car on official records held by the Government.
The agency said a letter asking for confirmation of the identity of the car owner went unanswered in January.
The magistrate, sitting in Herefordshire, convicted Lord Khan in his absence and ordered that he pay a £220 fine, £85 in costs and settle the £35.84 bill for unpaid tax on the Micra.
But court documents show that DVLA letters addressed to the mayor about the unpaid tax bill were sent to Gordon Ramsay‘s east London restaurant, instead of the nearby TfL offices.
The DVLA, which uses the SJP system to prosecute thousands of people every week over unpaid car tax and insurance bills, has so far refused to provide an explanation for how it ended up prosecuting Mayor Khan.
It is understood that the agency relies on motorists to provide accurate details for their vehicles, while it is a criminal offence to deliberately provide false or misleading vehicle registration details.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
