Uber has urged Transport for London to drop new requirements for drivers to pass a written English exam, saying thousands could be put out of business.

From 1 October, anyone from a non-English-speaking country who applies to TfL for a private car hire licence or to renew an existing licence will have to prove that they have passed an exam in English.

Initial proposals called for proficiency only in spoken English, but updated plans from TfL include a requirement to pass a two-hour written exam as well, which will cost £200 to sit.

Uber London’s general manager, Tom Elvidge, called on users of the ride-hailing app to write to the London mayor, Sadiq Khan. Elvidge said the new system would threaten the livelihood of thousands of drivers.

Sample papers for the exams include an “extended writing” task in which candidates are asked to write a short essay.

https://goo.gl/a0FFAL
----------------------------------------------

LOCKERBIE

A taxi driver caught ferrying high purity cocaine with a street value of £300,000 has been jailed for 32 months.
Thomas Haggerty, 30, of Renfrew, was stopped by police near Lockerbie, in Dumfriesshire, as he drove the consignment of Class A drugs north.
He was found to have 2kg of cocaine after he was stopped by officers on 28 July last year.
A court heard it was nearly 60% pure and could have produced about 8kg of street-strength drugs.
That meant it had the potential to be worth £312,000.
A judge told Haggerty at the High Court in Edinburgh: "The trafficking in Class A drugs is a vile and evil trade bringing misery to individuals and communities."
Lord Boyd of Duncansby said: "You have a limited record and from what I have read a good work ethos."
'Difficult position'
However, the judge said that the amount of cocaine involved in the seizure was "not insignificant".
He told Haggerty he would have jailed him for four years if he had been convicted after trial, but said the sentence would be reduced following his guilty plea.
Haggerty had earlier admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine on the A74(M) Carlisle to Glasgow road.
The court heard that police saw him driving in the northbound carriageway and were aware of intelligence that he was carrying drugs from the Merseyside area to Scotland.
Haggerty was alone in the vehicle when it was stopped.
Defence counsel Paul Nelson said Haggerty had acted as a courier on one day after finding himself in "a difficult position".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-37024203

------------------------------------------------

GLASGOW

A man who murdered a Glasgow shopkeeper in a religiously motivated attack because he thought the shopkeeper had “disrespected” Islam has been jailed for a minimum of 27 years.

Tanveer Ahmed, 32, a taxi driver from Bradford, drove to Scotland to confront Asad Shah at his store before pulling out a knife and stabbing the popular 40-year-old.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/09/muslim-taxi-driver-jailed-for-27-years-for-barbaric-murder-of-gl/