London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Bizarre Court Case: How An Untaxed Car Led To £340 Fine

Sadiq Khan has been fined by a fast-track court over an untaxed car. City Hall has disputed the implication that the vehicle was his, saying the London mayor does not own it.

The case centres on a vehicle that was not taxed. The fine puts Khan at the centre of a court action even as his office argues he is not the legal owner of the car involved, as per Guardian.

Why Was Sadiq Khan Prosecuted?

Khan was convicted last month through the Single Justice Procedure, a system that has faced criticism for the speed at which cases are handled. Under the process, magistrates can deal with hundreds of cases each day, with some reportedly spending less than a minute considering individual cases.

The London mayor has also faced protests from motorists opposing the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across London. Some protesters said they intended to register vehicles in Khan’s name, which would potentially make him responsible for the £12.50 daily Ulez charge, according to Guardian.

In Khan’s case, a magistrate in Herefordshire dealt with the matter through a private Single Justice Procedure hearing, with the mayor not present. He was ordered to pay a £220 fine, £85 in costs and £35.84 in unpaid vehicle tax relating to the Nissan Micra.

Why Did The Case Happen Without Khan?

The case was brought by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the government body responsible for maintaining driver and vehicle records. The agency alleged that Khan was listed as the keeper of the vehicle when it was found to be untaxed on January 24. After the Press Association brought the conviction to the DVLA's attention on Tuesday, the agency said it was examining the case and the circumstances surrounding the prosecution.

The case took another unusual turn after court documents showed that correspondence from the DVLA about the unpaid vehicle tax had been addressed to Khan but delivered to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in east London, rather than the nearby Transport for London (TfL) offices.

The Single Justice Procedure (SJP) was introduced in 2015 to provide a less expensive way of handling lower-level criminal offences. Under the system, a magistrate can consider a case individually and privately, rather than dealing with it in an open court hearing, Guardian reported.

The procedure is currently being reviewed by the government and has faced criticism over its handling of cases. In 2024, around 59,000 convictions related to train-fare evasion were overturned after being found unlawful, while it also emerged that children had been wrongly convicted through the system.

The SJP has faced further scrutiny over cases involving sick or incapacitated pensioners who were convicted for failing to pay household bills, with critics questioning the way such cases are dealt with behind closed doors.

In Khan's case, Press Association court records showed that the DVLA brought the prosecution after the annual tax on a blue Nissan Micra, first registered in 2002, expired in September 2025.