How vehicle registration fraud landed the London mayor with a £220 fine

Someone registered a car in Sadiq Khan's name without permission

In August, the DVLA prosecuted Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, for failing to tax a 24-year-old Nissan Micra. A magistrate in Herefordshire found him guilty and handed down a £220 fine. The case was handled through the Single Justice Procedure, a fast-track court process that allows magistrates to sit in private to deal with low-level criminal cases. Khan was not present; no plea was entered.

Khan's office later told the press that he had fallen victim to a scam. The car does not belong to him. Someone had falsely registered it in his name. According to Khan's spokesman, this was not the first time; he said, '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.' The DVLA reviewed the case and requested its withdrawal. Within days, a panel of magistrates reopened the case and marked it withdrawn.

The context: Ulez protests and deliberate false registration

After Khan expanded London's Ultra Low Emission Zone to cover the whole city, he faced waves of protest from motorists. Some of those opposed to the scheme said publicly that they planned to register their car in the mayor's name so he would be liable for the £12.50 daily charge.

The source does not say whether the Nissan Micra was registered as part of such a campaign, or who registered it. The DVLA is still investigating the circumstances, according to the source.

What this shows about vehicle registration

The scam works because the DVLA system, apparently, can process vehicle registrations in someone else's name without that person's knowledge or consent, and then prosecute them through a fast-track private court process. The defendant may not learn they are being charged until after conviction.

Khan discovered the case only when the Press Association contacted him about it this week. A court official told the Press Association that the magistrates' court does not usually deal with DVLA hearings on Thursdays, but Khan's case had been added to the list on the day before the hearing.