Sadiq Khan car tax conviction withdrawn after DVLA admits scam error

The British government’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has officially withdrawn a criminal conviction against London Mayor Sadiq Khan after he was erroneously prosecuted for failing to tax a 24-year-old Nissan Micra that did not belong to him. The case, which was handled through a controversial fast-track court system, was dropped in a one-minute hearing on Thursday, April 9, 2025, after the DVLA acknowledged it had been based on false registration data.

According to court documents, Khan was fined £220 in August 2024 after the DVLA charged him with keeping an unlicensed vehicle. The case was processed under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), a system that allows magistrates to decide low-level cases in private without a public hearing. The mayor only learned of the conviction when it was reported by the Press Association this week.

City Hall officials immediately stated that the Nissan Micra, first registered in 2002, was never owned by Khan. Instead, they said, someone had fraudulently registered the vehicle in his name – a “scam” that has affected the mayor before. The DVLA, after reviewing the evidence, requested the court to reopen the case and mark it as withdrawn.

The magistrates’ panel, led by chairwoman Mrs. Digings JP, accepted the request and formally ended the prosecution. Neither Khan nor a DVLA representative attended the brief hearing. The DVLA said it continues to investigate the circumstances of the false registration.

This incident highlights a persistent vulnerability in the UK’s vehicle registration system: identity fraud linked to car tax evasion. In the United States, similar cases occur when individuals register vehicles under others’ names to avoid fees or parking tickets, with the DMV often struggling to verify ownership. Dr. Mark Thompson, a vehicle fraud researcher at the University of California, noted that “the DVLA’s reliance on self-reported data without mandatory identity verification creates a gap that scammers exploit.”

The case also renews criticism of the Single Justice Procedure, which processes thousands of car tax and insurance violations each week. Critics argue that the closed-door system denies defendants the chance to contest charges before a penalty is imposed. “Had the mayor not been a public figure, he might have paid the fine without ever knowing he was a victim of fraud,” said legal analyst Sarah Bronson.

Khan’s office declined to comment further, reiterating that the mayor has been targeted by similar scams before. The incident comes amid ongoing protests over Khan’s expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to all of London, which introduced a daily charge of £12.50 for older vehicles. Some motorists had threatened to register their cars in Khan’s name to make him liable for the fee – a threat that now appears to have been carried out.

The DVLA has not provided details on how the false registration occurred, but it acknowledged that letters about the unpaid tax were sent to Gordon Ramsay’s east London restaurant instead of the mayor’s official address. The agency stated that it depends on vehicle owners to provide accurate information, and deliberately providing false details is a criminal offense.

As of April 9, 2025, the DVLA has not identified the person who registered the vehicle under Khan’s name. The mayor’s office confirmed that the Nissan Micra remains in the custody of the agency, and the fine has been refunded.

This case serves as a cautionary tale for both UK and US authorities about the risks of identity fraud in vehicle registration systems. While the DVLA has taken steps to strengthen verification, critics argue that more systemic reforms are needed to prevent innocent people from being prosecuted for crimes they did not commit.