Sadiq Khan wrongly convicted over untaxed Nissan Micra in absence court hearing
London Mayor Sadiq Khan was fined £340 after being convicted in absentia for keeping an unlicensed vehicle. His team calls it a "scam" — the car is not his.
London Mayor convicted over untaxed Nissan Micra he does not own
Lord Sadiq Khan of Tooting has been convicted of a criminal motoring offence and ordered to pay a fine of more than £340 — over a 24-year-old Nissan Micra that, according to his team, does not belong to him, the Daily Express reports.
The Mayor of London was prosecuted by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for allegedly keeping an unlicensed vehicle. Magistrate Surinder Gidda, sitting at Herefordshire Magistrates' Court, handed down the conviction on 18 August after no plea had been entered to the charge.
Lord Khan was ordered to pay a £220 fine, £85 in costs and £35.84 in unpaid vehicle tax — a total of £340.84 — within 28 days, or face escalating penalties including bailiffs or an arrest warrant.
Letters sent to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant
The conviction was made through the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), a fast-track system introduced in 2015 to handle low-level criminal cases. Magistrates sit alone and in private, sometimes spending less than a minute on each decision — a process critics have labelled "conveyor belt justice". The system is currently under Government review.
Court records show the blue Nissan Micra in question was first registered in 2002 and its annual tax lapsed in September 2025. The DVLA says the vehicle was identified as untaxed on 24 January, with Khan's name and date of birth appearing against it in official Government records. A letter requesting confirmation of the registered keeper's identity went unanswered, prompting the criminal prosecution.
The reason for that silence may lie in a straightforward administrative error. Lord Khan chairs Transport for London (TfL) as part of his mayoral role, and TfL's offices are located on the ninth floor of 5 Endeavour Square in Stratford, east London. The DVLA, however, addressed its correspondence to 9 Endeavour Square — a separate building two minutes' walk away, where Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen, Bar & Rooftop occupies the top floor.
The court subsequently sent its record of conviction to the same restaurant address.
'This is a scam, which is a crime'
A spokesperson for Lord Khan told the Daily Express the situation had a more deliberate explanation: "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."
The spokesperson's statement points to a known tactic among some opponents of Khan's expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Following that policy, critics said they intended to register vehicles in the mayor's name to make him liable for the £12.50 daily ULEZ charge.
The DVLA confirmed it is now urgently reviewing the case and investigating the circumstances that led to the prosecution, including a purported false registration, the Press Association reports. The agency is also looking at seeking to have the case reopened and the prosecution withdrawn.
Options for challenging the conviction
Defendants convicted in their absence through the SJP can apply to have proceedings reopened, typically by appearing in person before a judge to make a statutory declaration. Lord Khan could argue that he was unaware of the criminal case because correspondence was addressed to the wrong building.
If the case is reopened, he could petition the DVLA to withdraw the prosecution on the basis of mistaken identity, or enter a not guilty plea. Alternatively, the DVLA itself could apply to the court to reopen proceedings. It is not yet known whether an appeal will be pursued.
Source: Daily Express