"dennis@home" gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying:

The only ones that might not be are emissions tests, but even they
could be safety related depending on your views. I don't see anything
else that isn't directly related to safety in car MOTs.

How about a mis-spaced number plate?

Is that a fail?

Yes.

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m3s06000301.htm

So is a "honeycomb or similar" background to the plates.