Car tax conviction against mayor withdrawn

A car tax conviction against the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has been formally withdrawn after he was criminally prosecuted for not taxing a 24-year-old Nissan Micra he did not own.

The DVLA requested the withdrawal at Hereford Magistrates' Court on Thursday after the mayor's team said the conviction was the result of a "scam".

The Labour politician, 55, was found guilty of keeping an unlicensed vehicle by a magistrate last month in a criminal prosecution brought by the DVLA.

A spokesperson for the mayor said it was "not the first time" Khan had been victim of a scam involving people falsely stating that he was the owner of a vehicle.

At a hearing before magistrates at Hereford Justice Centre on Thursday, the case was formally reopened against the mayor and withdrawn by the panel after a request from the DVLA.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on Wednesday, adding: "The DVLA have requested that the original matter, if you consider it to be reopened, be marked withdrawn."

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"Further to the request from the DVLA, we are going to mark the matter as withdrawn."

Last month, a magistrate sitting in a private hearing of the Single Justice Procedure in Herefordshire convicted 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.

Court documents showed letters regarding the unpaid road tax bill had been sent to Gordon Ramsay's east London restaurant instead of the mayor.

The DVLA said a letter asking for confirmation of the identity of the car owner, which was sent to the wrong address, went unanswered in January.

This led to a criminal prosecution on 18 August after no plea was entered to the charge.

The mayor's adviser said the DVLA would investigate the false registration of the car.

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