The Foreign Office has completely denied claims that Mr Lammy and his wife refused to cough up.
Mr Lammy and his wife in Italy (Image: Getty)
The Foreign Office has flatly denied claims by an Italian taxi driver that David Lammy refused to pay a £590 taxi bill. French media reported that a taxi driver – who has himself been charged with theft in relation to the incident – carried Mr Lammy and his artist wife, Nicola Green, from Italy to a ski resort in France following an official diplomatic visit.
The bill for the 360-mile trip came to £1,305, £717 of which was covered by the transfer service used to book the car, leaving a £588 bill left to be paid. The taxi driver claims that Mr Lammy refused to pay the fee, and “became aggressive” when asked to cough up. He claimed that Mr Lammy, who at that point hadn’t identified himself, “snatched the receipt from his hand”.
After refusing to pay, the driver left the pair at their destination and drove to the local police station to complain with some of their belongings still in his car.
Mr Lammy and his wife got a taxi from Italy to France (Image: Getty)
Local officers found the couple’s suitcases in the boot of the taxi, with along with diplomatic passports revealing the identity of his VIP customers.
This is also disputed, however, given neither Mr Lammy nor his wife have diplomatic passports.
The anonymous driver told La Provence: “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.”
“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 chauffeur said.”
Mr Lammy with the King in Italy (Image: Getty)
However Mr Lammy and his wife are now reported to be suing the taxi driver for “fraudulently removing luggage and cash”.
Bonneville prosecutor Boris Duffau said: ‘The stories are not identical. Of course, the passengers are not saying the same thing as the driver when he filed a complaint.
‘The passengers have assured that the driver had already been paid. The driver said no.’
A 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.”
It is understood that while the suitcases were returned to Mr Lammy, money remained missing.
The Foreign Secretary and his wife were said to have been left considerably upset and scared by the row, which left a sour taste after a very successful state visit in Italy.
The car was arranged privately by Mr Lammy given the nature of the personal holiday, and was paid in full, however they were surprised by the driver’s claim of additional fees being required.
The taxi driver will face a court hearing on November 3 over the matter of “fraudulently removing luggage and cash”.
The incident played out in April, where Mr Lammy and Mrs Green were collected from Forli near Bologna following a three-day state visit to Italy.
Mr Lammy accompanied the King, whose visit saw him address the parliament in Italian.
