London Mayor Says Untaxed Car Conviction Was a Scam, Micra Refuses to Comment

London, September 2026: Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has been convicted and fined after being accused of failing to tax a 24 year old Nissan Micra a car his team says he did not own and that was allegedly registered in his name as part of a scam. The Labour politician, 55, was found guilty by a magistrate last month after the DVLA brought a criminal prosecution over the allegedly untaxed vehicle. There was just one small problem: according to court documents, the Micra apparently wasn't Khan. Even more unusually, letters concerning the unpaid tax were reportedly sent to Gordon Ramsay east London restaurant, rather than directly reaching the mayor. Because apparently, when the DVLA wants to discuss your car tax, the logical destination is now a celebrity chef restaurant. Mayor Team Calls It a Scam Khan spokesperson has rejected the allegation that the mayor was responsible for the vehicle and described the situation as a scam. This is a scam, which is a crime,the spokesperson said, adding that it was not the first time people had allegedly falsely claimed that Khan was the owner of a vehicle. The mayor adviser told BBC London that the DVLA was urgently examining the case and considering an application to reopen it and withdraw the prosecution. The DVLA is also expected to investigate how the vehicle came to be falsely registered. So the legal plot currently has several characters: a mayor, an old Nissan Micra, the DVLA, a magistrates court and Gordon Ramsay restaurant. And somehow, nobody seems to have ordered the Micra. The £340.84 Problem The case was dealt with through the Single Justice Procedure, a system in which certain case can be decided without the defendant attending court. A magistrate sitting privately in Herefordshire convicted Khan in his absence and ordered him to pay: £220 fine £85 in costs £35.84 in unpaid vehicle tax That brought the total bill to £340.84. The mayor was given 28 days to pay the amount. The court paperwork warned that failure to pay could result in additional enforcement measures, including increased fines, bailiffs or even a warrant requiring him to attend court. All of this over a 2002 Nissan Micra. For a politician used to dealing with London enormous transport system, being dragged into a legal dispute involving one tiny hatchback is certainly an unexpected change of scale. How Did the Micra End Up in His Name? According to court records, the blue Nissan Micra was first registered in 2002, and its annual vehicle tax expired in September last year. The DVLA said the vehicle was spotted being driven while untaxed on 24 January. Government records apparently showed Khan name and date of birth against the vehicle. The agency subsequently sent a letter asking for confirmation of the vehicle owner identity. But there was another problem the letter was reportedly sent to the wrong address. It went unanswered. With no response and no plea entered, the DVLA prosecution eventually went ahead on 18 August. The mayor was then convicted in his absence. If the allegations of false registration are ultimately confirmed, the case would illustrate just how easily a relatively ordinary administrative error can turn into a surprisingly complicated legal problem. And Then There's Gordon Ramsay Perhaps the strangest detail in the entire saga is where some of the paperwork ended up. Court documents show that letters addressed to Khan concerning the unpaid tax were sent to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in east London. The restaurant was also reportedly sent the court record of conviction and instructions concerning the payment of the £340.84 bill. Which means that somewhere in the administrative chain, a 55 year old London mayor, a 24 year old Nissan Micra and one of Britain most famous chefs became connected by a vehicle-tax dispute. It is not quite the restaurant reservation anyone was expecting. A Familiar Ulez Connection The controversy also comes with some political background. After Khan expanded London Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) across the capital, he faced protests from motorists opposed to the policy. Among the threats made by some protesters was an unusual plan registering their vehicles in Khan's name in an attempt to make him responsible for the daily Ulez charge. The reported scam involving the Nissan Micra is therefore particularly awkward because it concerns precisely the kind of false vehicle registration that had previously been discussed in relation to the mayor. However, the existence of those earlier threats does not by itself establish who registered the Micra or why. That is now something the DVLA says it will investigate. DVLA Reviews the Case The DVLA has confirmed that it is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the prosecution. The agency is also investigating the alleged false registration. An application has been made to the magistrates' court seeking to reopen the case and withdraw the prosecution. Until that process is completed, the important distinction remains between what the court originally decided based on the information available at the time and the mayor's subsequent claim that the vehicle was falsely registered in his name. The court convicted Khan because the vehicle was recorded against him and the tax had not been paid. His team now argues that he was never the owner. The DVLA investigation should help determine how the mismatch happened. From City Hall to a 2002 Micra The episode is an unusually bizarre detour for the Mayor of London. One moment, the mayor is dealing with London's transport policies, air quality and Ulez. The next, he's dealing with a 2002 Nissan Micra, an unpaid £35.84 tax bill and court paper work apparently sent to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. For now, the Micra remains at the centre of the mystery. If the prosecution is withdrawn after the case is reopened, the mayor team will have its explanation for what happened. Until then, the story serves as a reminder that government database can produce surprisingly complicated consequences when the information inside them turns out to be wrong. And somewhere in east London, Gordon Ramsay restaurant has apparently received yet another thing it never ordered.