London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan has been convicted and fined for allegedly failing to tax a vehicle, a Nissan Micra, which City Hall officials assert does not belong to him.
Lord Khan was found guilty by a magistrate last month of keeping an unlicensed vehicle in a prosecution brought by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The magistrate, sitting in a private hearing in Herefordshire, convicted Lord Khan in his absence and ordered him to pay a £220 fine, £85 in costs, and settle the £35.84 bill for unpaid tax on the car.
However, officials stated that the car does not belong to the Mayor or Transport for London (TfL), and it remains unclear if the conviction was pursued in error. Court documents indicate that DVLA letters addressed to the Mayor regarding the unpaid tax were sent to an east London restaurant, Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen, instead of the nearby TfL offices.
Single Justice Procedure Under Scrutiny
The conviction was made via the single justice procedure (SJP), a system established in 2015 for handling low-level criminal cases. The SJP allows a single magistrate to sit alone and in private to issue convictions, a process critics have described as 'conveyor belt justice' due to the speed at which cases are processed.
This procedure is currently under government review. It has faced criticism in the past, including instances where train fare evasion convictions were overturned for being unlawful and cases where children were wrongly convicted. The DVLA is now reviewing Lord Khan's case and investigating the circumstances of the prosecution.
Vehicle Records and Prosecution Details
Court records show that the DVLA prosecuted Lord Khan after the annual tax on the blue Nissan Micra, first registered in 2002, expired in September of the previous year. The DVLA accused Lord Khan of being the vehicle's keeper when it was identified as untaxed on January 24. The agency stated that his name and date of birth appear on official government records associated with the car.
The DVLA reported that a letter requesting confirmation of the car owner's identity went unanswered in January, which led to the criminal prosecution. Lord Khan, who serves as the chair of TfL, has his organization's offices at 5 Endeavour Square in Stratford. However, court papers reveal that DVLA sent its correspondence to 9 Endeavour Square, a building a short distance away where Gordon Ramsay's restaurant is located.
Magistrate Surinder Gidda convicted Lord Khan on August 18 after no plea was entered to the charge. The court also sent a record of conviction to the Gordon Ramsay restaurant.
Potential Course of Action
Defendants who believe they have been wrongly convicted in their absence can apply for their case to be reopened, typically by appearing in person before a judge to make a statutory declaration. Lord Khan could argue he was unaware of the criminal proceedings due to the misdirected mail. Once reopened, he could ask the DVLA to withdraw the prosecution or enter a not guilty plea. The DVLA also has the option to apply to the court to reopen the case.
The Mayor, who was appointed to the House of Lords in July and is now Baron Khan of Tooting, may need to appear in court to contest the conviction. This situation arises amidst ongoing public discussion about Khan's policies regarding motorists, including the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and consideration of new charges for SUV drivers. Previously, some motorists had pledged to register their vehicles in Khan's name as a protest against the ULEZ expansion.