FIT AND PROPER
UNDERCOVER STING LEADS TO CONVICTIONS AND £2,500 FINES FOR READING PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS
Two private hire drivers have been prosecuted and hit with more than £2,500 in combined fines and costs after being caught illegally picking up passengers without prior bookings in Reading. The convictions follow successful undercover test purchase operat- ions by Reading BC’s licensing team in the town centre and outside a casino. The first driver, 42-year-old Shafqat Ali, was caught after agreeing to drive an undercover
officer to Wokingham for a £60 fare without a booking. On 1 May 2026, Reading Magistrates’ Court found Mr Ali guilty of plying for hire and driving without insurance. He was fined £180 and ordered to pay £500 in costs alongside a £72 victim surcharge. The court also added eight penalty points to his driving licence, which triggered a six-month driving disqualification due to a previous six-point endorsement. The second prosecution stemmed
from a separate covert operation in central Reading in June 2025. Officers approached Amit Malik, a private hire driver licensed by Wokingham BC, who agreed to take them to Market Place in Wokingham for an unbooked £35 fare.
At a hearing on 11 May 2026, Malik was fined £225 for plying for hire and £594 for driving without insurance. He was also ordered to pay a £328 victim surcharge, £1,640 in costs, and received eight penalty points on his licence.
TORBAY TAXI DRIVER ISSUED FINAL WARNING AFTER STRING OF SPEEDING TICKETS
A Torbay taxi driver has been handed a formal written warning after racking up three speeding tickets in just nine months. The driver appeared before a council sub-committee after collecting nine points on his licence, including two offences caught by the same controversial camera in Newton Abbot just four days apart. The driver told the committee he was unaware of the first ticket when he received the second on
Ashburton Road, where the speed limit had recently been cut from 40mph to 30mph. He explained he was on a new school run and had not sped intentionally, admitting his mistake to officials. During the hearing, he also addressed concerns about parking outside designated zones and refusing a fare to an intoxicated woman with a child. In their report, councillors noted that “members felt that the
LIVERPOOL HC DRIVER’S LICENCE REVOKED FOR REFUSING WHEELCHAIR CUSTOMER
A taxi driver recently attended a Licensing Committee hearing following complaints, including the refusal of a customer in a wheelchair. Following consideration of the
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case, the Committee decided to suspend the driver’s licence for 4 weeks. All Liverpool City Council hackney carriage vehicles are WAVs.
respondent appreciated the gravity of these offences occurring in the course of his professional duty.” However, they expressed disappointment that the driver failed to notify the council of his tickets within the required 48-hour window.
The speed camera involved has faced heavy criticism for being nearly invisible, though police and local authorities defend it, noting nine injury collisions have occurred on that stretch of road in five years.
While some critics argue the camera does not meet regulations, supporters insist drivers should “own the consequences of their actions” and slow down. The driver’s written warning will remain on his record for three years, and he has been ordered to study the council’s taxi policies to ensure future compliance.
JUNE 2026 PHTM
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