A car tax conviction against the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has been formally withdrawn after he was criminally prosecuted for not taxing a 24-year-old Nissan Micra he did not own.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hearing before magistrates at Hereford Justice Centre on Thursday, the case was formally reopened against the mayor and withdrawn by the panel after a request from the DVLA.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on Wednesday, adding: “The DVLA have requested that the original matter, if you consider it to be reopened, be marked withdrawn.”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“Further to the request from the DVLA, we are going to mark the matter as withdrawn.”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.
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