Sadiq Khan's car tax conviction is withdrawn - as mayor says he's been victim of 'scam'
Khan, 55, was initially found guilty by a magistrate of keeping an unlicensed vehicle, in a prosecution brought by the DVLA
Sadiq Khan's conviction for not taxing a 24-year-old Nissan Micra has been overturned after the mayor said he had fallen victim to a scam.
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The Labour politician, 55, was found guilty by a magistrate last month of keeping an unlicensed vehicle, in a criminal prosecution brought by the DVLA.
The magistrate, sitting in a private hearing of the Single Justice Procedure 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.
However, City Hall officials say that the car does not belong to either the Mayor or Transport for London (TfL), which raised the possibility that he had been wrongly convicted.
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Court documents later showed that letters addressed to the mayor about the unpaid tax bill were instead sent to Gordon Ramsay's east London restaurant nearby to the TfL offices, and the vehicle did not belong to the mayor.
The DLVA confirmed that the withdrawal had been accepted but it needed to be formally reopened and withdrawn, which was done at Hereford Magistrates' Court this morning.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London previously 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 Lord Khan’s case, court records showed that he was prosecuted by the DVLA 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, leading to a criminal prosecution.
Lord Khan serves as the chair of TfL as part of his mayoral role, and the organisation has its offices on the 9th floor of 5 Endeavour Square in Stratford.
But court papers show the DVLA sent its letters to 9 Endeavour Square, a two-minute walk away from the TfL base, in a building where Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen, Bar & Rooftop occupies the top floor.
Magistrate Surinder Gidda, sitting at Herefordshire Magistrates’ Court, convicted Lord Khan on August 18 after no plea had been entered to the charge.