A Nigerian national who had twice failed his UK driving test killed a pensioner while behind the wheel after taking advantage of a learner loophole, an inquest has heard. 

Timothy Kusemi, 41, had a provisional British licence when he caused the death of Susan Whittles, 70, at a rural junction in East Yorkshire in 2023.

Now a case is being raised to block the loophole allowing non-UK born drivers to stay on the roads unsupervised without L-plates – a rule that does not apply to British learners.

Kusemi, of Lower Bedford Road, London, had already failed his British driving test twice before the fatal smash. He went on to fail a further four times after Ms Whittles’s death, before finally passing on March 21, 2025 – two years and six months after becoming a UK resident.

Government guidance allows people from countries where driving standards are not considered equivalent to the UK, including Nigeria, to drive for up to a year after becoming a resident while they obtain a full British licence.

Coroner Lorraine Harris warned the system creates a stark contrast with UK learners, who must be supervised and display L-plates.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths report, she said: ‘Nationals of non-designated countries who fail a GB driving test are not treated in the same way as a GB resident who fails a GB driving test.’

Kusemi admitted causing death by dangerous driving and serious injury, he was jailed for six years and banned from driving for 11 years.