SHAME SHAME
PH DRIVER JAILED FOR SEX ASSAULT ON GIRL IN BOURNEMOUTH PREVIOUSLY HAD LICENCE REVOKED
A private hire driver who was jailed for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl previously had a licence revoked. Bournemouth Borough Council removed Mahdi Ferhane’s driver licence in late 2017. Ferhane applied for a driver licence with New Forest District Council (NFDC) in December 2021. He was granted this licence to operate as a private hire operater carrying out pre-booked trips only. Last month Ferhane was found guilty of sexually assaulting a girl who had got into his vehicle in Bournemouth town centre and asked to be taken home. In a statement issued to the Daily Echo, a NFDC spokesperson said: “Mr Ferhane applied for a driver licence with New Forest District Council in December 2021 but did not disclose that he had previously held a driver licence
with
Bournemouth nor that this licence has been revoked previously by Bournemouth Council in November 2017. “The licensing service were notified of an alleged incident involving the taxi driver in June 2022 and based on the circumstances, the council took action resulting in the immediate revocation of his driver licence.” During his trial, it was heard he picked up a 17-year-old girl in Old Christchurch Road in the early hours of the morning without a booking. Judge William Mousley KC said the 38-year-old father-of-two “took advantage” of the “vulnerable” girl on May 29 last year. The court heard once the teenager was in his vehicle, Ferhane drove to a clifftop
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car park and insisted that she drive the car. The defendant took the complain- ant to an address he owned. Inside the property
he took off her dress
and massaged her shoulder before pushing her face down onto a mattress and touching her with his penis. After the incident, the defendant drove the teen home and charged her £12 for the trip. Ferhane was jailed for 28 months at a hearing on June 2. The NFDC spokesperson said enhanced DBS checks are carried out on all new and renewal driver licence applications to identify previous convictions and nothing was disclosed in Ferhane’s case. They added: “The council also has had a taxi and private hire vehicle refusal and revocations Register in place since 1 April 2022 to record, share and check other licensing authority records when new applications are received from drivers or from those seeking to renew applications.” Cllr Kieron Wilson, BCP Council’s regulatory services portfolio holder, said: “Any new applications or renewals for licences made to BCP Council are subject to enhanced DBS checks. Drivers also must to sign up to the online DBS update service, which is checked every six months for any change of circumstance. “All drivers operating in the BCP area need to declare all convictions and cautions as a condition of their
licence. National guidance is
followed for medical checks. “We are part of the Local Government Authority National Register of Taxi Licence Refusals and Revocations, which is checked when a new application comes in, so we can pick up refusals and revocations in other licensing authorities. We are committed to making sure that everyone in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole feels safe, and continue to review incidents to determine if any learning from them can reinforce the measures we have in place.” NPHTA comment: When we see this kind of behaviour from drivers, it is very annoying, disappointing, and frustrating, The industry and its workforce are invariably highly honourable, respectful, trust- worthy and professional, providing such a vital service to com- munities throughout the UK, in fact internationally, but as with any industry, there is always a minority who will cast a very dark shadow over the reputation of the entire industry. This is precisely why new changes have been introduced, such as DBS update services, double DBS checks one for taxi (HC) and PH badges, and another for school “contract” runs and why the use of the NR3 was made mandatory by the government, since not all councils were using it. As is always the case, the minority creates issues for the majority. We can only hope that the victims here recover from their ordeals, and do not see the entire trade in the same light as that one odd ball who attacked them.
JULY 2023 PHTM
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