The DVLA is withdrawing its prosecution against Sir Sadiq Khan after City Hall said the Mayor had fallen victim to a “scam” involving vehicles being falsely registered in his name.
The extraordinary case saw the Mayor convicted in his absence last month of keeping an unlicensed 24-year-old Nissan Micra, despite City Hall insisting the vehicle belonged to neither Sir Sadiq nor Transport for London.
He was ordered to pay a £220 fine, £85 costs and £35.84 in unpaid vehicle tax.
But the DVLA has now said the criminal prosecution will be withdrawn at a hearing at Hereford Magistrates’ Court.
A spokesperson for the Mayor 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.”
Letters sent to Gordon Ramsay restaurant
Adding to the confusion is the address used for correspondence about the vehicle.
Court documents show DVLA letters intended for Sir Sadiq were sent to 9 Endeavour Square in Stratford.
But Transport for London’s offices are at number 5 Endeavour Square.
Number 9 is home to Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen, Bar & Rooftop.
Court papers show even the record of conviction was sent to the restaurant, with Sir Sadiq being ordered to pay a total court bill of £340.84 within 28 days or potentially face further enforcement action.
The mix-up meant correspondence asking for confirmation of the identity of the vehicle’s owner apparently went unanswered, eventually leading to the prosecution.
Was an anti-Ulez protester behind it?
There is now speculation that the false registration could be connected to opposition to the Mayor’s expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone.
City Hall sources have reportedly pointed to an increase in vehicles being falsely registered to Sir Sadiq around the time Ulez was expanded across the capital in August 2023.
Some opponents of the scheme had openly discussed registering vehicles in the Mayor’s name in an attempt to make him liable for charges.
In one case in 2023, a motorist claimed to have “gifted” his non-Ulez compliant 2002 Ford Focus to Sir Sadiq, registering it in the politician’s name before posting the logbook to TfL’s headquarters.
It is understood vehicles have been registered to the Mayor on several occasions since 2023, although the Nissan Micra case is believed to be the first to result in a prosecution reaching court.
The DVLA is investigating the false registration.
Convicted without appearing in court
The case has also put renewed attention on the Single Justice Procedure, the fast-track system through which Sir Sadiq was convicted.
Magistrate Surinder Gidda convicted him at Herefordshire Magistrates’ Court on 18 August after no plea was entered.
The Single Justice Procedure allows magistrates to deal privately with large numbers of relatively minor offences without a conventional open-court hearing.
The system has previously faced criticism over wrongful and controversial convictions and is currently under Government review.
In Sir Sadiq’s case, DVLA records apparently showed his name and date of birth against the blue Nissan Micra when it was found to be untaxed in January.
The vehicle, first registered in 2002, had not been taxed since September last year.
After the conviction was brought to the DVLA’s attention, officials began reviewing what had happened.
That review has now resulted in the agency moving to withdraw the prosecution.
For Sir Sadiq, what initially appeared to be a relatively mundane conviction for failing to tax an old Nissan has instead raised much bigger questions about how easily a vehicle can apparently be falsely linked to somebody else’s identity – and how that mistake was able to progress all the way to a criminal conviction.
