Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been caught up in a diplomatic row after a taxi driver alleged he refused to pay a £590 fare for a cross-border journey from Italy to France.
The incident reportedly occurred following Mr Lammy’s official visit to Italy alongside the King and Queen.
According to claims published in French regional newspaper La Provence, the driver collected Mr Lammy and his wife Nicola Green in the town of Forli, near Bologna, before transporting them over 360 miles north to the ski resort of Flaine in Haute-Savoie.
Upon arrival, the driver alleges the couple refused to pay the remaining sum of a £1,305 journey, and became “aggressive”.
He said Mr Lammy, 52, did not identify himself and “snatched the receipt” from his hand when told £590 remained unpaid. The remainder of the fare had reportedly been covered by the transfer firm that arranged the journey.
The driver claimed he later discovered that the couple were carrying diplomatic passports, number plates, and a coded briefcase—information he handed over to police in Bonneville, who subsequently opened an investigation into a “commercial dispute”.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has robustly denied all allegations, insisting the fare was fully paid and that Mr Lammy and his wife were, in fact, the victims of a theft.
“This is categorically untrue,” said an FCDO spokesperson, speaking to 20 Minutes. “The Foreign Secretary and his wife were victims in this incident. The driver is now under investigation for theft.”
According to diplomatic sources, the driver left with the couple’s luggage and cash during the dispute, prompting them to file a legal complaint for “fraudulent removal of belongings”.
French prosecutors confirmed both parties have lodged complaints and that the matter remains under investigation.
“The passengers claim the fare had already been paid. The driver asserts the opposite,” Bonneville prosecutor Boris Duffau told MailOnline. “Naturally, the accounts differ significantly.”
The taxi driver, who remains unnamed, is due to appear in court on 3 November to face allegations of theft. Meanwhile, he has reportedly written to the British embassy offering to resolve the issue amicably.
Sources close to Mr Lammy also emphasised that the trip was of a personal nature and funded out of his own pocket, not at public expense. They also rejected the reported fare figures as inaccurate.
