Sadiq Khan cleared of car tax conviction caused by ‘scam’

The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, was recently fined and convicted for failing to tax a 24-year-old car. This decision was made through a fast-track court system that critics have dubbed "conveyor-belt justice," as magistrates often decide on hundreds of daily cases in mere seconds. City Hall officials claim that the car in question is not owned by Khan or Transport for London (TfL), suggesting a possible wrongful conviction.

The mayor's case came to light when the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the government organization responsible for maintaining driver databases, accused him of being the car's keeper after it was observed as untaxed on January 24. A magistrate in a private hearing in Herefordshire convicted Khan in his absence, ordering him to pay a £220 fine, £85 in costs, and settle the £35.84 unpaid tax bill for his Nissan Micra.

Following the Press Association's disclosure of the conviction to the DVLA, officials are now reviewing the case and investigating the circumstances of the prosecution. The single justice procedure, introduced in 2015, allows magistrates to handle low-level criminal cases alone and in private, rather than in open court. The system has faced criticism in recent years, including cases where about 59,000 train-fare evasion convictions were overturned due to unlawful proceedings, and instances where children were wrongly convicted in these secretive courts.

Khan's case has drawn attention to the system's scrutiny, with regular incidents involving sick and incapacitated pensioners being harshly convicted for unpaid household bills.