SOUTHAMPTON

A ‘FAKE’ taxi driver lured a drunk woman into his car before sexually assaulting her as he drove her home, a jury has been told.

Elvis Williams allegedly touched his intoxicated victim on her upper thigh after posing as a taxi driver outside a Southampton nightclub.

He then left the drunk woman on the side of a motorway slip road after she screamed at him to let her out, say the prosecution.

The victim also made a phone call to a friend who demanded that Williams tell him where they were.

Williams allegedly replied: “She’s got no clothes on, come and get her.”

After the call was ended, the victim screamed to be let out of the car.

Williams later dropped her off on the slip road of junction nine of the M27, near Whiteley.

There she met a a group of men who called the victim’s friends to pick her up.

Williams, 58, of Mosaic Close, Southampton, denies kidnap and sexual assault.

During the opening of his trial at Southampton Crown Court yesterday, the jury was told how Williams was spotted driving around Bedford Place in July, calling out his driver’s side window as if he were a taxi.

This prompted concerns from two off-duty security staff, visiting the owner of nightclub 90 Degrees, after travelling back from work in Swindon.

One of the pair, Marcel Cullers, thought Williams was targetting women.

Mr Cullers subsequently approached one woman, who was alone and intoxicated, to warn her not to get Williams’ Seat Leon.

However, she proceeded to get into the car.

Mr Cullers said that he heard Williams say “you better have money” in an aggressive manner before speeding off. He later phoned the police to report the incident.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, alleged that Williams touched the inside of her upper thigh while driving her home.

Prosecuting, Richard Martin told the jury that the victim had not consented and that it constituted a sexual assault.

Police arrested Williams on the same day of the assault, which took place in the early hours of July 30.

According to the prosecution, Williams “exercised his right to silence” and gave a no-comment interview to police.

Mr Martin said that he will later provide evidence that Williams was not a licensed taxi driver and did not have the necessary insurance for a commercial vehicle.

Williams, who appeared in court wearing a dark suit and glasses, has pleaded not-guilty to all charges.

http://bit.ly/2EG5CJn
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 UBERK WORLDWIDE

  Uber has made headlines for years over how much investors imagined the company was worth, based on what now looks like generous guesswork. But for more than a year, that figure was a jaw-dropping $70 billion. Overnight and into the new year, you’re going to see a different number in headlines about Uber’s business. According to the Wall Street Journal, that price is now $48 billion—still very, very big. But big as it is, we’re looking at a more than 31-percent drop from its earlier value. Uber’s unreal-looking valuation, it turns out, really was quite unreal.

As for what’s causing the drop, maybe it’s because Uber, as of a year ago, was still losing billions of dollars. Or maybe the company’s awful behavior has simply caught up to it this year, resulting in new regulatory hurdles, swaths of legal battles, and, ultimately, a smaller-but-still-gigantic valuation.

Reached for comment, an Uber spokesperson did not address the details from the Journal’s report, only saying, “We look forward to working with the purchasers to close the overall transaction, which we expect to support our technology investments, fuel our growth, and strengthen our corporate governance.”

Uber may no longer be worth more than Ford’s 114-year-old automobile business. And apparently, it’s no longer double the value of its home-sharing counterpart, Airbnb. But as far as we know, Uber is still making billions of dollars from rides, and now that the Softbank deal is done, the company is on schedule to go public in 2019. Someday soon, Uber’s price tag could soar yet again, no matter what new secrets are dug up about how the company has operated between now and then.

http://bit.ly/2Ch3W7x 
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 An illegal taxi driver who took passengers to airports in an unlicensed vehicle has been fined.

Keith Morgan, of Hardinge Road, Ashford, admitted using the car without a licence at Canterbury Magistrates’ Court today.

The 43-year-old was caught out by Ashford Borough Council (ABC) after the authority received a tip-off.

In April, Morgan sold his licensed taxi and bought a new vehicle, but failed to get it tested or licensed before conducting a number of airport runs to Heathrow and Gatwick over the weekend of April 8 and 9.

An investigation by ABC revealed a number of unlicensed journeys and also found the car had an unsafe tyre.

Following the investigation – and before the court hearing – Morgan surrendered his taxi driver and vehicle licences.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of using the vehicle without a private hire licence and was fined £100 for each offence.

Cllr Brad Bradford, portfolio holder for highways, wellbeing, and safety, said: “This prosecution should send out a stark warning to those who fail to comply with their legal requirements that offences will be dealt with firmly, and risks to the safety of the travelling public will not be tolerated.”

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/cabbie-fined-after-illegal-airport-157798/