LONDON

Uber has been accused of 'gravely misleading' judges and regulators in its ongoing battle to continue operating in London.
A judge's decision in their favour will be reviewed after it was revealed her husband is linked to the firm, placing Uber's future in London in fresh doubt. 

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot granted the taxi-app firm a temporary licence to continue operating in London. 

But a High Court judge has allowed the capital's black cab drivers to appeal against her decision.

Lady Arbuthnot is married to former Conservative MP James Arbuthnot, who works for a strategy firm whose clients invest in Uber, The Sunday Times reports. 

In the latest hearing Mr Justice Walker said Uber had 'gravely misled the regulator and the court' and granted a judicial review, saying Lady Arbuthnot may have made an error by allowing the temporary licence.
Lady Arbuthnot has said she was not aware of the connection with her husband's work.

Transport for London denied Uber a new licence last year saying the company was not 'fit and proper' to operate in the capital.
TfL rejected the application amid fears over Uber's reporting of serious criminal offences and how it carried out background checks on its drivers.
London's transport chiefs also raised concerns about drivers' medical certificates and Uber's use of technology which allegedly helped it evade law enforcement officials.

Uber criticised the decision saying not issuing a licence 'would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies' and appealed the decision.

At the hearing presided over by Arbuthnot the firm conceded it had made 'serious mistakes' but said it had made 'wholesale' reforms.
Lady Arbuthnot granted a 15-month 'probationary licence', having found the Silicon Valley giant was now 'fit and proper' to hold the licence in the capital. 

A lawyer for London's black cab drivers said she had failed to explain her potential conflict of interest.
Lady Arbuthnot said she was unaware of the connection, and would not hear any Uber-related cases in future.
A spokesman for the judiciary said: 'It is essential that judges not only are, but are seen to be, absolutely impartial.' 

https://goo.gl/wQup9Q 
-----------------------------------


A taxi driver in Birmingham has been sacked after allegedly refusing to transport boxes of Remembrance Day poppies.

A passenger carrying the poppies was to be taken from a Royal British Legion club in Kingstanding to Villa Park stadium on Thursday afternoon.

But it was claimed the driver asked what was inside the boxes, then refused to take them after being told they contained remembrance poppies.

Taxi company KMR Cars said the driver had since been dismissed for failing to tell bosses the passenger had not been collected.

The company also said that it had apologised for the outrage caused.

West Midlands Police said it was investigating the incident and subsequent “threats” to the taxi company.

KMR Cars said in a post on Facebook: “Due to this gross negligence of the driver and incompetence by not alerting the office of him not picking up the passenger, KMR Cars have dismissed the driver who cannot be named.”

The company said it had passed the driver’s details to Birmingham City Council, which was investigating the issue as “as a matter of urgency”.

https://goo.gl/Gyj9tQ
----------------------

Comment: This driver is a complete pudding !

Everyone is entitled to their opinion on the follies of war, !

But in his ignorance, he shames the families of the many, many of the 2.5 Million brave Muslim men who travelled to France to fight for the Allies in 1914/18 and whose bodies still remain there.

This is the Purpose of Poppy day, to remember those who sacrificed everything, so that we can still live.

 https://goo.gl/C4gxRB