Taxi Driver Online

FROM: Jim Taylor

TO: Donald Macleod
Council Solicitor
City of Edinburgh Council

Dear Mr Macleod

I refer to the following and would ask that you forward this correspondence to the proper investigating authority.

Following is a post which has appeared on the Fastblacks forum on the internet, posted by an individual calling himself George IV and who posts on Taxi Driver Online as Swannee. It is followed by a post by the site’s administrator, an individual who calls himself Travis Bickle. Both of these individuals are anonymous.

**********

Quote from: George IV on August 17, 2012, 05:52:50 AM
Found this on the dark orifice.....................................

"Don't be shy now, Jim, tell us all about your wonderful book - released on kindle at £1 (including VAT) It's all about lesbian love, is it not?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WOMEN-n-LOVE-eb ... B008J5L61U

Is it based on your real life relationship with Garry? or are you really a closet lesbian?

Even KarenC who comments on your autobiography thinks it was written by a woman."

If you know the fat Barclay boy you'll know he's an authority on this subject as hes been an avid stalker of young girls on the playhouse rank for years. Most of the regulars won't get in his taxi as he probes them for intimate details.
Well JB, your number may be up...... The door will be knocking soon.
Tho you'll have ample time on your hands to write more

Travis

**********

I write to make formal complaint about both these individuals and require that you investigate the allegations made against me, and those who are making them.

While the allegations made are a serious slight against me personally, should they find their way into the public domain they would bring our taxi trade into serious disrepute and harm the interests of the public and everyone associated with the trade, whether owners, drivers or any of the support services which derive their living from it.

It is therefore essential that these preposterous allegations are properly and fully investigated and those making them held to account. Given the graphic nature of the allegations, it is clear to me that these individuals are clearly deranged and obsessed with sexual matters to a degree which renders them not to be fit and proper to work in our trade, and should therefore be removed in order to protect the public.

As for the allegations themselves, as I have said they are preposterous. I have been a taxi driver for 18 years, and am happily married with two children and four delightful grandchildren. At no time has any complaint ever been made against me for any matters of such a personal nature. And there is therefore no evidence to substantiate the appalling criminal claims being made about me at this time by these two individuals.

In view of the serious implications of these allegations, I require that you arrange with the appropriate investigating authority, the Cab Inspector, that he exercise his duty to properly and fully investigate these matters, and with whom I will willingly co-operate in every way I can in order to assist him.

As a solicitor working in the public sector, you will be aware of the raging controversy of incidences of “Trolling” on the internet, where such serious and defamatory allegations can be, and are, made, as well as the legislation and other measures in place to identify these miscreants and deal with them with the full weight of the Law. In accordance with current practice I require that the investigating authority furnishes me with the identities of these individuals in order that I may pursue such civil action as is necessary.

What makes this incident so compelling is that they have now resorted to dragging the integrity of the entire taxi trade in Edinburgh into their campaign, which could damage it irreversibly. The council should not be prepared to allow this to happen and seize the imperative to identify them and deal with them appropriately. It occurs to me in view of this, that it is long overdue for the rest of the trade to say “enough is enough” and provide the council with any knowledge they have of these two reprobates in order to help preserve the integrity, dignity and commercial wellbeing of our taxi trade.

For the purposes of identifying the Bickle individual, it is certain that licence holder Alan Gladstone knows who he is. From there it should be a simple matter to identify George IV/Swannee.

I look forward to your urgent response.

Yours

Jim Taylor

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

I think Travis may just have outed himself.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-14894576

Jim's complaint has been made official and is currently before the Council and the Cab Inspector. I think Travis, will be waving goodbye, to his taxi licence if he fails to back-up his allegations.

No more anonymity for scumbags who don't have any balls, Travis's licence is going, going...

A "fit and proper person" to drive a taxi, I don't think.

I don't think the following can be interpreted in any other way.

If you know the fat Barclay boy you'll know he's an authority on this subject as hes been an avid stalker of young girls on the playhouse rank for years. Most of the regulars won't get in his taxi as he probes them for intimate details.

Well JB, your number may be up...... The door will be knocking soon.
Tho you'll have ample time on your hands to write more

Message for Trav, on Fasties:

You're not quite getting this, Trav. You'll be outed shortly and up in front of the council for your troubles. You've made allegations of impropriety against Mr. Taylor, no doubt about it, thinking that a pseudonym would protect your identity. Nae luck son, the times they are changing. Not only is this a question of trolling, by defaming a person's character on a public forum and bringing your trade into disrepute, but there it is also the issue of women's safety. You'll get your chance to prove or withdraw your allegations, while your licence is being suspended.


Trolling, is a very hot political issue at the moment, and you've hung yourself out to dry, Trav. This time, we will find out who you are.

Dear Mr macleod

In view of the serious nature of my email sent to you yesterday, I would be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of it and advise me what action you propose to take, and how the matter is to be investigated.

Perusing my records I am aware of a number of occasions where the cab inspector has ignored my emails, which is why I have routed this matter through you.

I would add that this is just another manifestation of the council's policy to restrict taxi licences. The actions of these individuals is motivated by their desire to protect what they perceive as their right to have their vested interest.

The council will be aware of the abuse I, and my family, has been subjected to over recent years, including personal threats, anonymous telephone calls and other forms of abuse, including being unable to work in my trade.

What brings imperative for the council to this latest outburst, is the willingness on their part to bring our trade into disrepute in the their banale attempts to attack me personally.

I should add that I am not prepared to wait overlong for your response which if not forthcoming with some urgency I will treat as a refusal by the council to act in this matter and I will take appropriate action accordingly.

Yours

Jim Taylor

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

Dear Mr Taylor,

I acknowledge receipt of your two e mails. I will pass these to Terry Higgins, the new Taxi Complaints Officer, and asked him to pass the matter to the Cab Inspector for investigation.

Regards

Donald Macleod
Principal Solicitor (Licensing)
Legal, Risk and Compliance
Corporate Services
Level G3, 249 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1YJ
Tel 0131 5294304 Fax 0131 529 4207
E-mail donald.macleod@edinburgh.gov.uk

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

I bet Travis's ar*e is twitching like a rabbit's nose. You're getting your comeuppance son.

Fundamentally, Travis has shown himself to be unfit to hold a taxi licence. His behaviour is reprehensible and not what you would expect from someone in the public front line.

as for george IV/Swannee, well this individual has shown himself to be at best a homophobe.

By using references to gay/lesbians in such a derogatory way to attack me provbes that they are not fit and proper to hold a taxi licence. I expect the council, and Frank Smith, to bring both before the council to explain their actions, and I expect to be there. Along with my "representative" of course

Of course, this matter at this stage is less about what they have said about me, but what they said in respect of their suitability to hold a licence.

Afterwards, well then we'll deal with what they said about me.

Thing is, if they had read the book they would have seen how irrelevant their mutterings were. Nevermind. Stupidity rules. And they'll come to have need to explain to their own families about their conduct.

I understand the stars twinkling through a canvas roof is a sight to behold

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

It'll be interesting to see how Agent Frank Smith investigates your complaint, Jim. We all know, how diligent Smith is when it comes to investigating, one persons word against another, and reporting it to the council.

This time, Frank has the evidence in black and white written on a public forum. I don't think it should be that hard to find out, who Travis really is, even for Smith.

I would imagine Travis's licence suspension almost a foregone conclusion - a fit and proper person, I don't think.

No such thing as a foregone conclusion when it comes to the council Skull.

It wouldn't surprise me if they are already working out how to play this down. However, that would be a result in any case.

I'm not sure who has the the biggest problem here. Travis and george IV, the council or the cab inspector.

The two keyboard hardmen could, and should, lose their licences and their livelihoods, the council have to be seen to be acting in the public interest and the cab inspector has no option but to investigate conduct which has been advised to him previously but failed to.

I paraphrase but a wise man from the East once told me that if you sit by a river and wait long enough the bodies of your enemies will come floating by.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

Well, there appears to be no hiding behind the Data Protection Act for Trolloing. And what's more, the courts are handing out custodial sentences in the most serious cases. Travis's allegation of driver impropriety, coupled with that of women's safety, is definitely one for the council to decide. Is this the act of a fit and proper person to drive a taxi?

Imagine standing before the council and saying, you made the allegations up, because you didn't like Mr. Taylor's out spoken political stance against vested interest or his book.

A licence suspension must be a slam-dunk.

I'm not even sure that there is an offence of bringing the trade into disrepute. But what Travis said would surely do that. The last thing our trade needs are claims that anyone is soliciting outside any establishment, and any sexual connotation attached to it.

It would appear that in his haste to try to do me down, Travis's sledgehammer has rendered the nut inedible.

The fact that the council solicitor has initiated an investigation speaks volumes.

For me, the matter is not about his allegations of sexual impropriety. They are horlicks and I suspect even he knows it. And, if he'd read the book he would have known there is no sexual impropriety in it either. It's simply a romance set to a political backdrop of the debate about same sex marriages, which as today's news revealed is still a hot potato in Scotland.

For now the matter is about Travis's conduct and, given what he said, and the way he used what he said, it questions whether someone of such mind should be the holder of a taxi driver's licence dealing with the public, some of whom are directly affected by his archaic and insensitive opinions.

That being the case, I seek the right to formalise my complaint against a named individual(s) and to appear before the committee with him (them) and lay my complaint personally before the councillors of the RC.

That's where this is heading.

For now.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

Perhaps I should add that those who would view his forum have already voted with their absence from it on Travis's rants and ramblings.

The posts are now few and far between, and it is likely that any viewing figures recorded are likely made up. It would appear that there may be some link between Travis and central's committee. We'll look forward to seeing whether this is true. if so, well it has been told to me that they have doctored figures presented to the council in the past. And there is also some dispute about current job totals, referred to on this forum and no refutation made.

Travis has driven Fasties into the ground. What used to be the first call for topical debate on the Edinburgh taxi trade is now a pale shadow of its former self. That's down to Travis.

His identity has always been a carefully guarded secret. But I remain convinced he is Alan Gladstone's alter ego. Gladstone has stoically denied this. We'll see.

But Gladstone provides the servers for the site. He is the technical guru who supports it. And, to all intents and purposes he funds it. Corect (sic ) me if I'm wrong by the way.

It seems inconceivable to me, given the vanity of the man, and his self-opinionated ramblings, that he would ever defer control of it to anyone else, no matter what excuse he comes up with. It's just not his style. The forum was his drug, it's difficult to see how he would be able to wean himself off it.

I suspect the Travis ruse was because he was aware of the heat he was making by upsetting some people. And he sought to deflect that heat.

Well, we're all watching this space and waiting.

And remember, Gladstone being the service provider, he is fully responsible in any case. That's what the Law says. And that's why he too should be brought before the RC to explain his actions and his suitability to hold a driver's licence be scrutinised.

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

Terence Higgins Terence.Higgins@edinburgh.gov.uk

16:17 (12 hours ago)

to me

Dear Mr Taylor,



Complaint re posts on Taxi Driver Online



I thank you for your email dated 21 August 2012 in connection with the above.



This matter has been forwarded to the Lothian and Borders Police Cab Inspector for investigation and once this incident has been investigated I will contact you further.


Yours sincerely


Terry Higgins


Senior Legal Support Officer

Terry Higgins l Licensing Department l City Chambers Business Centre G3 l 249 High Street l Edinburgh EH1 1YJ l Telephone 0131 529 4250 l Fax 0131 529 4207 l Email: terence.higgins@edinburgh.gov.uk

_________________
Skull, "You are a police inspector, aren't you?"
Cab Inspector Smith, "Yes."
Skull, "So, are you going to tell Mr Taylor what his rights are?"
Smith, "And ... What rights?"

Could someone please remind the police that TDO is merely a messenger, not the original cause of said tiff?

Alex

_________________
ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

Simply the best taxi forum in the whole wide world. www.taxi-driver.co.uk