An independent London mayoral candidate has lost his bid to have his lockdown-breaking conviction quashed.
Andreas Michli was prosecuted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after not paying two fixed penalty notices over a lockdown-breaking gathering at his home.
Mr Michli, who has said he decided to run as a candidate in May’s vote after being “radicalised by lockdown”, challenged the prosecution, arguing it had been brought out of time.
But on Tuesday, the High Court ruled that the 37-year-old gym owner was “rightly convicted” and declined to quash the conviction.
The court heard that Mr Michli hosted a gathering of more than 15 people at his home and was fined by police after they attended the property at 1am in the morning on February 14, 2021.
At the time, England was in its third national lockdown.
Mr Michli was convicted under the controversial single justice procedure on 26 April 2022, and fined £200, the ruling states.
In a judicial review brought to the High Court, the candidate argued that the charge sheet was posted more than six months after the February 14 gathering, meaning the prosecution was barred by law from being brought.
However, Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Griffiths disagreed, and ruled: “The prosecution was brought in time and the claimant was rightly convicted.”
Mr Michli said he intended to challenge the decision as he believed it effectively gave police an extended period of time to prosecute in cases involving fixed penalty notices.
“From our perspective, this is contradictory to what the government implemented in legislation - and it’s only the public who are affected,” he told the Standard in a statement.
“We are in discussions with our legal team to dispute this decision and progress our case to the Supreme Court.”
He previously hit headlines for being fined £67,000 for refusing to close his Zone Gym business in Wood Green during lockdown. However, twelve charges of breaches of Covid regulations were later dropped.
The 37-year-old is running on a platform of scrapping net zero targets, as well as Ulez and the congestion charge.
The mayoral election will take place on May 2, along with elections for the London Assembly.
Incumbent Sadiq Khan is fighting for an historic third term as Labour’s candidate, against candidates including the Conservatives’ Susan Hall, the Greens’ Zoë Garbett, the Liberal Democrats’ Rob Blackie and Reform UK’s Howard Cox.
