AnglianAV8R, I don't assume such, just as I don't assume that everyone obeys the speed limits on the road just because the law says you should.
I was just trying to clarify a couple of points further up the thread, and questioning how it could be a permit test flight if it wasn't already registered. I think that any inspector would like to be fairly sure that an aircraft is registered before it is flown, otherwise any insurance certificate that the aircraft might hold would be invalid? I also think the BMAA would reject the permit application if they found the aircraft to be De-Registered, so surely it is something that is checked? I'm not trying to be clever here, just stating the way I interpret the law and how it would work. I don't personally have experience of gaining a permit to fly on a microlight, and so I'm sure someone here will be able to either confirm the above or else put me right.