French taxi driver cleared of stealing from David Lammy after fare dispute | David Lammy
The French taxi driver accused of stealing money and luggage from David Lammy was acquitted due to lack of evidence, the prosecutor said.
Nassim Mimun, 40, drove the deputy prime minister and his wife, Nicola Green, to the Flaine ski resort in the French Alps on April 11, more than 600 km (370 miles) from Forli near Bologna in northern Italy.
But in May Bonneville prosecutor Boris Duffau said the “tone has been raised” about the cost of the fare at the end of the journey.
The driver, from the southeastern city of Avignon, then left, leaving his passengers’ bags in the boot of his car. “He left them at the municipal police station the next day,” but because they remained in his possession for a long time, it was considered theft, Duffau said.
The driver accused Lammy of refusing to pay for the trip and complained of violence in media interviews. Duffau said Monday that he was acquitted of the theft charge due to lack of evidence.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said at the time that Lammy and his wife were victims in the case and rejected the claim that the Labor MP in Tottenham had refused to pay the driver.
Lammy and Mimun filed a complaint, but only the justice minister’s complaint was deemed significant and the Frenchman was charged with “theft of cash and personal belongings”.
The driver had claimed to French media that Lammy had acted “aggressively” when asked to pay €700 (£590) of the €1,550 bill, the rest of which was to be paid by the booking service.
A source at the time said the fee was paid in advance to the transfer service, but Mimun told him upon arrival that he owed money and had to be paid in cash.
The MP and his wife were in Italy on an official visit to King Charles before heading to the French Alps for a private holiday.
Lammy was foreign secretary at the time of the incident and was appointed justice minister and deputy prime minister as part of Keir Starmer’s reshuffle in September.
