Michail Antonio handed six-month driving ban after magistrates reject his 'letter lost in post' defence

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Magistrates at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court rejected Michail Antonio's claim that a Metropolitan Police letter requesting the driver's identity for his Lamborghini Urus had never reached him, convicting the 36-year-old Watford striker of failing to assist a police investigation. The car had been observed travelling without due care and attention along Pall Mall at 12.38am on 5 November last year. Antonio told the court he had been in Manchester that night visiting his children and had lent the vehicle to car-hire operator Tarique Josephs, saying he was "in shock" to learn he was facing charges.

Antonio was already carrying six penalty points on his licence from an uninsured-driving offence in July 2025, so the six points added by the court automatically triggered a ban.

A total financial penalty of £2,050 was imposed, comprising a £1,000 fine, £650 in prosecution costs and a £400 victim surcharge.

Antonio faces a second, separate prosecution over the same Lamborghini allegedly clocked speeding in Birmingham — a case he had previously been convicted of in his absence and had since had reopened.