A taxi driver has claimed British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his wife Nicola Green refused to settle a fare of almost £600 after he drove them more than 360 miles from Italy to a ski resort in France.
The driver said he collected Lammy, 52 and his artist wife, 53, on April 10 at the town of Forli near Bologna after they had accompanied King Charles and Queen Camilla on a three-day state visit to Italy.
But he alleges that Lammy ‘became aggressive’ when asked for payment after he drove some six hours into the night to reach Flaine, a ski village in Haute Savoie in the French Alps.
The driver claimed Lammy, who did not identify himself, ‘snatched the receipt from his hand’ when he said it was up to the passengers to pay €700 (£588) out of a €1,550 (£1,305) total fare – the rest of which was covered by a transfer service used to book the trip.
When they allegedly refused to pay, the driver said he left them at their destination and drove to the local police station to lodge a complaint.
Upon arriving at the police station, officers reportedly found two diplomatic passports and two licence plates, as well as a coded briefcase, in the boot of the taxicab, allowing them to identify Lammy.
Following the driver’s official complaint, an inquiry was launched by the Haute Savoie prosecutor’s office in Bonneville.
But the office also told French media that Lammy and his wife are suing the driver for ‘fraudulently removing luggage and cash’, with the Foreign Office declaring the Foreign Secretary ‘totally refutes’ the allegations made against him.
‘On the night of April 10-11, I was the victim of assault and violence by members of a British embassy during an international transfer, where they refused to pay me,’ the driver, a man from Avignon who remains anonymous, told La Provence.
‘GetTransfer, who used my services, was supposed to pay me the difference, €850 euros.
‘They stopped the payment. And on the spot, the customer snatched the receipt from my hands. It’s a well-known fact when you want to write the trip off as an expense report later on,’ the driver stated.
He added that, had he known who Lammy was, he would’ve charged ‘much more’.
‘They never said they were working for the government,’ the driver complained.
‘In this type of transfer, we’re driving special people, with suitcases and sensitive documents. All of that comes at a price. And they could very well have been armed, too.’
The driver had countersued, according to Bonneville prosecutor Boris Duffau, who also verified the legal action against Mr. Lammy and his wife.
Mr Duffau said: ‘The stories between the two parties are not the same. Of course, the passengers are not saying the same thing as the driver when he filed a complaint.
‘The passengers have assured us that the driver had already been paid. The driver said the opposite.’
The unidentified driver will now face a court hearing on November 3 to face the charge of ‘fraudulently removing luggage and cash’ after he drove off with Lammy’s belongings in the boot.
The driver allegedly submitted a notification to the British Embassy outlining the circumstances and asking that the fare be handled amicably, in addition to lodging a complaint with the local authorities.
An FCDO spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We totally refute these allegations. The fare was paid in full. The Foreign Secretary and his wife are named as victims in this matter, and the driver has been charged with theft.
‘As there is an ongoing legal process, it would be inappropriate to comment further.’
The driver’s version of the transaction does sound credible, even if we don’t know how accurate these events are. Besides, Lammy is notoriously stingy with the truth.
Then you have Lammy sending taxpayer money to bomb civilians in the Middle East on behalf of a foreign state – he’s not a pleasant person, but then, neither is Keir Starmer.
I’m not surprised by this. We pay such high taxes, and when you consider the degree of expectation and greed at the highest levels of government and politics, the constant flying about, the semi-pointless meetings, et cetera. They then advise us on what to eat, but none of them follow through on it or even try to be more courteous.
Can you imagine their carbon footprint? Then they preach to the public about zero emissions – they’re just nasty and they’re in it to cheat the system.
It appears that Lammy is taking advantage of us to live off the fat of the land.
Nevertheless, I do find it weird that he declined to pay when he could have stuck it on his expenses tab for the taxpayer to pay, and this is a somewhat disgraceful episode for an official who is meant to be representing the UK.
Lammy seemingly also left things in the boot of the taxi – not only is this a security breach, but it’s also careless, and this should have been the primary headline.
However, it could even be that the driver of the taxicab drove off with Lammy’s belongings when he refused to pay.
I still can’t believe that David Lammy did not have his passport in his possession, nor did he have the coded briefcase within sight, and if this is the case, he should be sacked immediately.
How was his and his wife’s skiing trip, anyhow? This was a private break – there was no way that this expedition was official government business, but why was Lammy carrying a coded briefcase to go skiing on holiday – what was he going to leave it in his hotel room?
The taxpayer should not be paying for MP’s little indulgences. If they want nice things then damn well pay for them out of your own pocket and not ours! Households are on the breadline here in the UK while our MP’s are knocking back the caviar and sipping champagne. Then there are the lavish holidays abroad at 5-star hotels – bet there are no migrants there?
Come on, admit it, our government couldn’t care less about us, they never have and they never will. It’s all about being Lord of the Manor and taking what doesn’t belong to them – they steal, while we have to beg and borrow, and they all need to go! Where’s Robin Hood when you need him?
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