Taxi Driver Online

Some of the stuff in here

And even the councillors' discussion at the end about the suspension/revocation has a slightly crazy quality about it all.

I give up


Edinburgh private hire driver convicted of drug offences handed one-month suspension

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/ ... on-5623832

An Edinburgh private hire driver who was convicted of drug offences and cut a queue for a red signal at high speed has been given a one-month suspension.

Tuesday’s licensing meeting heard from police that a property Muhammad Umar was the landlord for was used to produce cannabis, and that at least £40k in product was recovered from it.

Police Scotland asked for his licence to be revoked, but on consideration of the factors involved councillors agreed to a one month suspension.

Inspector James Langside told councillors on Tuesday that Umar was found guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on September 4, 2025 for being concerned with the production and distribution of a controlled substance.

Umar was sentenced to a community payback order of 300 hours’ unpaid work, to be completed within one year.

The incident involving the high-speed overtake, which happened in July 2024, occurred before he became a private hire driver.

Insp Langside said that on May 4, 2021, officers responded to a property in Edinburgh after a neighbour said regular water leaks were coming from it and the occupants couldn’t be contacted.

Umar, the landlord of the property, agreed to meet officers at the site, and arrived there around 9.30.

On arriving, he quickly entered the property and shut the door behind him, with officers spotting plastic structures through the door and artificial lighting.

They became suspicious that Umar was trying to hide something, and said they could smell cannabis.

Eventually, Umar let the officers in, where they saw an ‘extensive cannabis cultivation operation’, as well as alterations to the property including a bypassed power meter.

Insp Langside said Umar was evasive about the identity of who lived in the property. After a warrant was issued, cannabis with a value of at least £40,600 was recovered from the flat.

Umar then said: “I freely accept my responsibility for the conviction, it was a serious mistake. The court did not impose a custodial sentence, and I’m working on completing my community service.

“The offence did not occur when I was working as a taxi driver, I was not connected to licensed work in any way at that time, and I’ve had no further trouble with the police.”

Explaining why he closed the police out of the property on entering, he said that he had ‘panicked’, and that he had not been able to check his properties due to the pandemic.

He added that he provides for his one year old child, his wife and his mother, and would struggle to find alternative employment due to his conviction.

Committee convener and Conservative councillor Joanna Mowat asked Umar if a tenant was renting the property when the incident occurred, to which he replied ‘yes’.

Insp Langside then asked to read another submission from Police Scotland, which detailed a driving incident on July 9, 2024 for which he was convicted of careless driving.

He said Umar was driving over the speed limit along Broughton Street, manoeuvred along the wrong side of a traffic island and overtook five cars in an oncoming traffic lane to beat a queue.

He continued that, when stopped by officers, Umar said he ‘did not want to wait’ for a red signal to change, and that he was disrespectful towards the officers speaking with him.

In Edinburgh Sheriff Court on January 15, 2025, Umar was made to pay a £600 fine plus a £40 victim surcharge, and was given six penalty points on his licence.

Cllr Mowat asked Umar to address the traffic offence, to which he replied that it happened before he had become a licenced private hire driver.

He continued: “I’ve accepted responsibility for that. Since becoming licensed, I’ve retained a clean driving record, and have had no complaints from members of the public.

“I accept what I did was wrong. The police officer was shouting and screaming at me, and said because of my conviction before, she started accusing me, ‘do you use drugs, do you sell drugs’.

“She searched my car, there’s nothing in this car. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, but I take full responsibility.

“Since I’ve been a [private hire] driver I’ve never had any issues with speeding or doing something like that again.”

Upon questioning by a councillor, he said he had been a private hire driver since June 2025.

Liberal Democrat councillor Jack Caldwell asked if Umar had disclosed the driving conviction on his private hire driver’s application.

Umar responded that he had not, continuing: “I didn’t read that information. If I did know I would have.”

Fellow Liberal Democrat councillor Neil Ross asked: One of the principal concerns of the committee is public safety, and the likelihood of a licence holder having active contact with criminal elements.

“Can you talk to that and explain why we should accept your reasoning to remain a licence holder?”

Umar replied: “One of the main reasons is I understand the need to protect public confidence. Nearly five years have passed without incident, and my conduct shows this has continued.

“This is the first ever criminal offence in my whole life, it has genuinely ruined my life, almost ruined my life.

“I have been a [private hire] driver, and I’m very grateful to the committee to show I’ve not had any issues and won’t have any other issues in the future.

“I can promise you I won’t do anything like that again. I’m married, I’ve got a kid, I’ve got a family to supply for.”

Cllr Mowat asked Umar if he was a registered landlord at the time of the incident, which he replied he was.

She said: “You had a tenant who was bypassing the electricity, putting people at risk, flooding another property, and tampering with the electricity.

“These are all serious incidents, I know you’ve said you’ve paid it, you’ve done community service.

“But actually I’m quite concerned that someone who was undertaking a registered activity wasn’t doing that very well as a landlord. That really concerns me.”

Cllr Mowat said: “I think these are two quite serious offences for a driver. We did at the time give them the opportunity because this was a charge. We heard they weren’t involved in this, but this was someone using their property.

“I’m struggling, we’re asked to revoke this licence completely, and I think that is the choice between us, is whether there should be a licence in place.

“It’s not going to be a case of a suspension. It’s going to be a case of a licence in place or not a licence in place.”

Cllr Mowat appeared to be leaning towards supporting revocation, but cut herself off to call on Cllr Graham to speak, who said: “I’m quite happy to propose revoking the licence.”

Cllr Ross asked officers if it was possible to issue a suspension instead of deciding to revoke or not revoke the licence, with officers replying that it was possible

Cllr Mowat said a suspension might ‘cut down the middle’ of where the committee was.

Two weeks was initially proposed, but councillors coalesced around a position of one month.

Councillors asked Umar whether an immediate suspension or one after 28 days would be least impactful on him.

Umar replied that an immediate suspension would have less of an impact on his work

Councillors then agreed a one month suspension of his private hire driver’s licence, to take place with immediate effect.

Unfortunate choice of words in view of the drugs angle - is that some sort of admission?

So if they're that worried about the impact on him, then why not impose a shorter suspension but at the time of the committee's choosing, rather than the driver's?

Oh look another doctor/engineer or essential worker proving what an outstanding citizen they are !

_________________
lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

A committee of buffoons.

Simple as that.

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IDFIMH

Could say the same about what's happening across the water in Fife

But although here it's maybe an HC v PH sort of dynamic in play, in Fife it's maybe a bit different...


Edinburgh taxi trade's anger at 'lenient' one month ban for private hire driver with cannabis farm

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/ ... rm-5628232

The Edinburgh taxi trade has expressed its anger at the 'lenient' one month ban given to a private hire driver who owns a property where a cannabis farm was discovered.

As well as being convicted of drug offences in September last year, Muhammad Umar was also caught by police cutting a queue for a red light at high speed in July 2024, before he became a private hire driver. He was convicted of careless driving.

This month’s licensing meeting heard from police that Mr Umar was the landlord at an Edinburgh flat which was used to produce cannabis, and that at least £40,000 in product was recovered.

At the March licensing meeting, Police Scotland asked for his licence to be revoked, but councillors instead agreed to a one month suspension of the private hire driver’s license.

Reacting to the one month ban, the Association of Hackney Carriage Drivers of the City of Edinburgh and the local black cabs trade union have both written to the licensing board expressing their anger and frustration.

In the letters, seen by the Evening News, they both criticise the ‘lenient’ one-month ban which “undermines” public trust in the trade, and they also highlighted a recent two-week ban given to a private hire driver for picking up passengers off the street.

The Association said: “This decision has left an extremely bad taste in the mouths of many honest, law-abiding members of our industry.

“Every day, drivers across this trade work hard to represent and promote this great city in the best possible light, maintaining high standards of professionalism and public trust.

“Decisions such as this undermine those efforts. It is particularly frustrating when the committee appears not to have learned from the intense scrutiny and criticism surrounding the last ill-advised decision it made.

“Public confidence in the licensing system depends on consistent and robust decision-making, especially in matters where public safety and the reputation of the trade are concerned.

“When that confidence is eroded, it affects every driver who works hard to do the job properly.

“We hope that going forward the committee will reflect carefully on the wider impact of decisions such as this, not only on public confidence but also on the morale of the many professional drivers who operate within the rules every day.”

In July, 2024 Mr Umar was caught driving over the speed limit along Broughton Street, when he manoeuvred along the wrong side of a traffic island and overtook five cars in an oncoming traffic lane to beat a queue.

When stopped by officers, Umar said he “did not want to wait” for a red signal to change, and was disrespectful towards the officers speaking with him. In Edinburgh Sheriff Court in January, 2025, Umar was made to pay a £600 fine plus a £40 victim surcharge, and was given six penalty points on his licence.

Reacting to the one-month license suspension, Unite the Union secretary Keith Auld added: “From the perspective of many within the trade, this raises serious concerns about how the ‘fit and proper person’ test is being interpreted and applied.

“Across the trade there is a growing feeling of uncertainty and concern. Many of us look to our councillors for guidance and leadership in helping to shape a long-term, safe and trusted transport service for the public.

“Licensing decisions play a crucial role in maintaining confidence in that system, both for drivers and for the passengers who rely on us.

“Could I therefore ask for some clarification on what the term ‘fit and proper person’ means in this context? At present it feels as though that standard is being overlooked, and it would be helpful to understand how the committee determines whether someone meets that requirement.

“The trade is keen to work constructively with councillors and the licensing authority to ensure that the standards expected of drivers genuinely support a safe and reliable service for the public.”

Responding to the concerns raised by the Edinburgh taxi trade, Licensing Sub-Committee Convener, Councillor Joanna Mowat said: “In order to remove a licence, the Committee must be satisfied that statutory requirements are met.

“For this particular case we reviewed the police report, time elapsed since the offence, behaviour since the offence and whether the offence was related to the licence type under consideration.

“Having fully considered all of the relevant circumstances, the decision was taken to suspend the licence for one month.”

Even more ammunition for those saying his suspension was too lenient...

He's fit to be a PHD, but not to be a landlord

And it's the same committee...


Edinburgh private hire driver who kept his licence despite drug convictions struck from landlord register

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/ ... er-6530867

An Edinburgh private hire driver who kept his licence despite drug convictions, has now been struck from the landlord register, meaning he can no longer let his five properties.

Muhammad Umar told councillors at a licensing meeting in February that being a private hire driver was the only form of work he could find to support his family after his conviction.

However, at a licensing meeting on Monday, Umar was removed from the landlord register by city councillors after discovering he was renting out five properties in Edinburgh.

Umar appeared frustrated as he spoke to councillors this week, failing to address his previous remarks about his income at last month’s meeting.

Police did not read out information about his convictions, but in February it was disclosed that Umar had been convicted of the production and distribution of a controlled substance.

He was also found guilty of a more recent traffic offence, where he overtook a stopped queue of cars to beat a queue of traffic.

Umar received a 300 hour community payback order for the drugs conviction, and a £600 fine plus a £40 victim surcharge for the traffic offence, as well as six penalty points.

At the February licensing meeting, he had his private hire driver’s licence suspended for 28 days, effective immediately from the date of the meeting.

He told them: “This was a one-off incident during Covid. I’ve never had any issues with the police in the past regarding criminal convictions.

“I had a lot going on [at the time of the incident leading to the conviction], my mum was in hospital, it was Covid-19 as well.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Neil Ross asked Umar: “When you first became aware of the use of your property for the cultivation of cannabis, do you accept it was your responsibility to notify the police immediately?”

Umar replied that he had “panicked”, and continued: “That’s my mistake, I take full responsibility and I wish I never, ever did that.”

During the February meeting, councillors heard that Umar was called to attend his property by police in May 2021 after a persistent water leak into the flat below.

On arrival, he quickly entered the flat and shut police out, with officers spotting plastic structures and artificial lighting through the door. They became suspicious that Umar was trying to hide something, and said they could smell cannabis.

Eventually, Umar let the officers in, where they saw an ‘extensive cannabis cultivation operation’, as well as alterations to the property including a bypassed power meter.

Police inspector James Langside told councillors at the meeting that he was evasive about the identity of his tenant. After a warrant was issued, cannabis plants valued at over £40,000 were removed from the property.

Councillors at the meeting heard that Umar was still a landlord, but his letting of multiple properties was not discussed.

During Monday’s meeting, Labour councillor Margaret Graham said: “I am of the same opinion that I was [in February]. I believe that the severity of the drugs and drug crime make Mr Umar not a fit person to be a landlord. I would like to see him struck off the register.”

Conservative councillor and committee convener Joanna Mowat said: “I know Mr Umar was in front of us for a different licence type last time.

“I do think that this is a very different [situation], because the legislation and the guidance is very clear about landlord registration and the type of incidents that need to be struck off the landlord register.

“This was also an incident that happened in the flat and does point to concerns about how he managed his properties, albeit during Covid. I am also concerned that [Umar’s] property was used as a cannabis farm.”

She supported Cllr Graham’s position that Umar be struck from the landlord register, which the rest of the committee agreed with.

Monday’s licensing meeting saw four landlords struck off the register, with a decision on another landlord delayed. Licensing meetings in the year prior to the one on Monday have seen very few landlords up for removal from the register.

More like the committee realising that they made an arse of it last time