Man Jailed for Fabricated Jaguar Malfunction Hoax
Nathan Owen's dangerous driving and fraud charges stem from a staged car emergency and subsequent media payments.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Sarah Connor
Nathan Owen, 33, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and two counts of fraud.
Owen dialed 999, claiming his car was accelerating uncontrollably; he could not stop it.
Police pursued Owen across the M58, M57, and M62.
Owen drove at speeds up to 86mph for approximately 35 minutes, covering about 38 miles.
During the incident, Owen claimed his Jaguar I-Pace was 'not stopping' and was 'stuck at 78mph' as he drove down the motorway; he also stated he had gone through red lights before entering the motorway.
He further claimed he was texting his girlfriend whilst apparently not in control of the vehicle and collided with a police car deployed to assist on a number of occasions.
Prosecutor Eric Lamb stated that Owen phoned emergency services to tell them his electric Jaguar was accelerating on its own and he could not stop.
Lamb asserted that Owen had full control of the vehicle and traveled at excessive and extreme speeds.
You set in train a course of conduct which caused a significant police traffic operation to be deployed, undoubted alarm to the public and very substantial loss and disruption to others.
Jaguar Land Rover incurred £50 million in marketing costs due to the adverse publicity generated by Owen's false allegations, which led to 180 pieces of negative coverage.
Murray Paul of Jaguar Land Rover UK claimed the firm spent an extra £50 million in marketing to counter the publicity from the false allegations.
Owen later received payments from The Sun and the Daily Mail for his story.
Ian Unsworth KC condemned Owen's actions, stating, 'You set in train a course of conduct which caused a significant police traffic operation to be deployed, undoubted alarm to the public and very substantial loss and disruption to others.'
Unsworth added, 'You, meanwhile, sought to profit from a lie.'
Owen's father described him as a 'Walter Mitty character' who 'lives in a fantasy world.'
He had grand ideas and things just went wrong.
Daniel Travers, representing Owen, described the incident as 'frighteningly stupid,' adding, 'He had grand ideas and things just went wrong.'
Investigations found no fault with the Jaguar I-Pace; Eric Lamb stated, 'In fact, his car was stationary at the time of that call.'
Lamb concluded that Owen 'had fabricated the events in order to enable him to get rid of the vehicle.'