A French taxi driver accused of stealing from Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has been acquitted due to lack of evidence, prosecutors confirmed on Monday. Nassim Mimun, 40, drove Lammy and his wife, Nicola Green, over 600km from Forli, Italy, to the ski resort of Flaine in the French Alps on 11 April.
The journey ended in a dispute over the fare, with the 'tone escalating' according to prosecutor Boris Duffau. Mimun left with the couple's bags in his car boot but returned them the next day to a municipal police station. He was charged with theft of cash and personal belongings after Lammy filed a complaint.
The driver claimed Lammy became 'aggressive' when asked to pay €700 of the €1,550 bill, which Mimun said was owed to him. However, the Foreign Office denied Lammy refused to pay, stating the fee was settled upfront with the booking service. Both parties filed complaints, but only Lammy's led to charges.
Lammy, then Foreign Secretary and now Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, was travelling with his wife after joining King Charles on a state visit to Italy. The acquittal follows a lack of evidence to support the theft allegation, Duffau said.
