WIDOW, 83, CONVICTED OF FAILING TO TAX LATE HUSBAND'S CAR

An 83-year-old woman from Reading has been convicted of failing to pay tax on a Volkswagen Touran after the vehicle was transferred into her name following her husband's death. The woman, who is partially blind and has never driven, was prosecuted by the DVLA over an unpaid tax bill. She received an absolute discharge but was ordered to pay £242.92 in unpaid tax by mid-September. The conviction was handled through the Single Justice Procedure, a fast-track court process for low-level criminal cases, with magistrate Dr Stephanie Smith presiding at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

The woman told the court that her daughter's partner had transferred the car into her name in April 2025 as "a good faith gesture" in the hope she could use it for hospital appointments. She stated that she had never understood the rules around vehicle ownership, as her husband had managed all such administrative matters throughout their 64-year marriage. The woman's husband died on 30 December 2024. The vehicle has since been scrapped and was never used by the pensioner.

The case has drawn attention to the Single Justice Procedure, which allows magistrates to sit in private to deal with cases. The Ministry of Justice stated that proposed reforms to the procedure will be announced "shortly". Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, told the Press Association that cases of perceived injustice damage public confidence in the courts. The Single Justice Procedure faces ongoing scrutiny over its handling of cases involving sick and elderly pensioners prosecuted for unpaid household bills.