Judge Emma Arbuthnot Deals London Taxi Trade A Slam Dunk...In-spite Of All The Evidence

   Emma Arbuthnot.            Husband Baron James Arbuthnot 

Day two of Uber's licence appeal, the court heard from Uber's QC that in their opinion they haven't been operating illegally (even though this has been proved in two previous court cases and was confirmed by Tom Elvidge yesterday. They also denighed that they have been dispatching 2 million jobs illegally on a weekly basis for the last six years. (Also confirmed by Elvidge).

Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) Emma Arbuthnot, who's husband ex Tory MP and front bench minister, now Baron James Arbuthnot-thanks to close chum(ocracy)  David Cameron- had to decide if the decision by TfL not to relicense was right or wrong. She has to decide today if Uber are fit and proper.

As the gallery filed back in the Judge started talking about booking process.

Elvidge accepts it was false.

She then said "I have to find if this was deliberate, it would be unfair if I found on dishonesty without hearing from those involved but Uber painted a force picture".

The decision:

Uber granted 15 month short term licence pursuant to complying with a list of conditions. 

How predictable...

According to the LTDA Twitter feed, the Magistrate was overawed by the scale and worldwide interest in this case, standing up to a $70 billion dollar company was just too much for her!

Unbelivably she has gone against all the evidence and granted Uber a 15 month breather.

Not unexpected the LTDA went from being "an interested party" to "its not our case it's TFL's"....

This verdict has stunned the London Taxi and private hire trades.

Over 100 London cabbies and have been handing their badges back to TfL over the lady 18 months. 

Hundreds of Private Hire operates have been put out of business, not being able to compete with Uber's subsidised predator pricing.

British justice at its best???

Or as Mr Bumble said when being removed from his parochial office "If that's the law sir....then the law is a ass. If that's the law sir then the law is a bachelor. And all I hope sir is the law learns by experience......by experience sir. 

Is there a case for a class action for compensation to drivers who've had their legitimate work stolen illegally over a six year period???

Uber employee lied on oath...

TfL directors lied to the London Assembly on multiple occasions...

Even after complaints, TfL allowed Uber to carry on operating from an unlicensed operation centre until they applied for a licence variation... 

TfL directors and managers hid illegalities and swept damning statistics under the carpet on a regular basis....

from Taxi Leaks https://ift.tt/2lD2mpY
via IFTTT https://ift.tt/2tHp17Z https://ift.tt/12cqxIH

Wolverhampton Minicabi protest off after council bosses threaten legal action

The West Midlands Private Hire Drivers’ Association (WMPHDA) had organised the ‘go-slow’ protest for Thursday over Wolverhampton Council’s private hire licensing system, which they say makes to too easy for people to get a licence. 

It was due to take place on Thursday and could have seen the city centre grind to a standstill, with hundreds of drivers travelling from all over the country to take part. 

But the protest has now been called off after the authority threatened to invoke legislation designed to stop car cruisers, which forbids large numbers of vehicles driving in a convoy or causing an obstruction on a public highway, whether moving or stationary. 

Bosses at the WMPHDA say they plan to apply for a temporary suspension lifting the injunction, allowing them to run the protest at a later date. 

Spokesman Shaz Saleem said: “Due to the bullying tactics of Wolverhampton Council, Thursday’s protest has now been postponed. 

Shaz Saleem, Ebrahim Suleman and Raheel Shah have helped stage previous taxi protests in the city 

“This is not the end of the matter. We will be applying for the injunction to be lifted temporarily, and we are also looking at other protests such as a walking march through the city. 

"If the council wants to play games we will fight back.” 

The protest was to see private hire vehicles drive through the city at 20mph. 

It was widely publicised on social media and had attracted interest from drivers from all over the country. 

Council licensing manager Chris Howell, said the authority had not received official confirmation that the protest was off. 

He added: “The council are in discussions with the organisers, to ensure that the safety of the public is not unduly compromised, and will continue to seek an agreement through dialogue which will prevent drivers from carrying out a reckless and potentially illegal protest within our city.”

from Taxi Leaks https://ift.tt/2tuiVbJ
via IFTTT https://ift.tt/2Km7EAM https://ift.tt/12cqxIH