A car tax conviction against the mayor of London has been withdrawn after it transpired that he was targeted by a “scam” that led to him being fined for failing to tax a car that was not his.
Sadiq Khan was found guilty last month under what has been described as a system of “conveyor-belt justice”, in which magistrates decide on hundreds of cases a day, sometimes spending less than a minute on each.
City Hall officials say the 24-year-old Nissan Micra did not belong to Khan or Transport for London.
The case was formally reopened at a magistrates court hearing at Hereford justice centre on Thursday and withdrawn by a panel of magistrates after a request from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Neither the mayor nor a representative from the DVLA were present at the court for the one-minute hearing.
A legal adviser told the panel of magistrates that they may be aware of the case since 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on Wednesday, adding: “The DVLA have requested that the original matter, if you consider it to be reopened, be marked withdrawn.”
Chair 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 Further to the request from the DVLA, we are going to mark the matter as withdrawn.”
The mayor has been the focus of protests in the past by motorists angry at the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone in London. Some said they planned to register cars in Khan’s name to make him liable for the £12.50 daily charge.
After the conviction emerged on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Khan said the mayor had been the target of “a scam, which is a crime”.
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“It’s not the first time the mayor has been the 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,” they added.
Khan had been convicted in his absence by a magistrate – who was sitting in a private hearing of the single justice procedure – and was ordered to pay a £220 fine, £85 in costs and to settle the £35.84 bill for unpaid tax on the Micra.
