The aspiring glamour model who had a breast enlargement operation on the NHS sparked further fury today after revealing she receives £6,000 of taxpayer-funded taxi journeys a year.
Mother-of-two Josie Cunningham, of Leeds, infamously had her 32A breasts enlarged to a 36DD with £4,800 of taxpayers’ money, after saying her flat chest was ‘ruining her life’.
And now the pregnant 24-year-old has claimed that she cannot take the bus because it gives her anxiety attacks - and she is now ‘more hated’ by the public than her idol, model Katie Price.
Council chiefs have granted her request to take her children to and from school every day by taxi - costing £150 a week - and she is also being given NHS sessions to help reduce her stress.
Miss Cunningham told The Sun: ‘Why should I foot the bill when it’s the public who cause me so much discomfort? They can pay for it.
‘I couldn’t get a bus again. I’m too well recognised and the amount of hate I receive makes it impossible to get public transport.’
The mother, who is now six months pregnant after becoming a £1,000-a-night prostitute, added: ‘Taxpayers should be grateful it’s only taxi fares and not private hire cars.’
An application to the council was made after she told her GP that her children aged three and six were missing nursery and school because she could not face taking the bus.
The doctor told the council about her health issues, and officials accepted the plea for free taxi rides to take her the two and a half miles to and from the school, twice a day.
A Leeds City Council spokesman told The Sun that he would not comment on individual cases, but added that the local authority 'takes matters relating to attendance at school extremely seriously'.
However, neighbours on her estate called the revelations of her free taxi use 'unfair' and 'disgusting' - and the TaxPayers' Alliance said taxpayers were being 'taken for a ride'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2665542/NHS-boob-job-girl-Josie-Cunningham-gets-6-000-taxpayer-funded-taxi-rides.html#ixzz35RHZIChP
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Tameside
Denton's MP has called on the Government to abandon proposed changes to taxi and minicab laws which he says could threaten passenger safety.
The proposed reforms will enable people without a minicab license to drive one when it is ‘off duty’, end annual license checks and allow minicab operators to subcontract bookings to firms in other areas.
At presents taxis and minicabs can only be legally driven by someone licensed through the council – who has undergone rigorous checks – but now under the new law, drivers would be able to loan their cars to anyone they choose.
There has been widespread criticism from MPs, councillors, campaigners, unions and taxi drivers themselves about the Governments last minute decision to insert these reforms into the Deregulation Bill over fears that it will increase the number of ‘bogus’ taxi drivers on our streets.
Denton and Reddish MP, Andrew Gwynne, has slammed the proposed changes because of concerns they could put passengers at risk.
“At present, minicabs in my constituency are driven by people who have undergone criminal, medical and background checks with our councils in Tameside and Stockport but the Government is threatening to remove these safeguards and let anyone drive an off duty minicab,” he said.
“I know many people in Denton and Reddish, particularly women and those with impaired mobility, rely on taxis and minicabs to get home safely.
“I’m worried that Minister’s plans will increase the number of rogue drivers on our roads – I’m calling on the Government to abandon these proposals and put passenger safety first.”
Councillor John Longsden, chairman of Manchester City Council's licensing and appeals committee, said it has always been a major priority for them to keep taxi passengers safe.
He says this is why the council has put in place very clear rules to make sure customers can easily identify private hire vehicles, but these new reforms would jeopardise their efforts.
"The City Council and members of the taxi industry are very concerned about clauses within the Deregulation Bill which would undo a lot of this work, make it more difficult for customers to know they are getting into a taxi they can trust, and make it harder for councils to regulate the industry," he told MM.
“We believe these clauses will potentially make it easier for bogus taxi drivers to operate and reduce the opportunity for effective enforcement.
“We're urging the government to rethink these proposals, instead of rushing through without any effective consultation."
Chair of Stockport Council’s Licensing, Environment & Safety Committee, Cllr Chris Gordon also has concerns, but underlined that this was his personal view and not the view of the Liberal Democrats or Stockport Council.
He said: “Although the vast majority of licence holders are honest, hardworking individuals, these changes will indeed put members of the general public, and especially women and vulnerable people at risk and will vastly increase the level of monitoring and enforcement needed by our officers.”
Eddie Cooke, of Stockport’s Private Hire Association, told MM the proposed reforms have been a ‘complete waste of tax payer’s money’ and are a ‘recipe for disaster’.
“Would you want your daughter to be taken home in one these potentially bogus cabs?” he asked.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which has campaigned for safer taxis since the early 90s, has raised concerns that enabling anyone to drive a licensed minicab will provide “greater opportunity for those intent on preying on women.”
There have been a number of high profile cases involving taxi drivers committing sexual assaults, but it is believed many go unreported.
Last year, the number of sex crimes involving taxis increased at such a rapid rate that a judge issued a warning that no woman can expect to be safe while travelling in a cab.
However, these assaults are not limited to men, in February last year, cab driver Elhadi Sakhri was jailed for almost eight years after admitting two counts of rape against men he picked up in Manchester’s Gay Village.
Campaigners fear that with these new reforms, the number of cases could skyrocket, as potentially predatory individuals would be able to masquerade as legitimate drivers.
The reforms are part of the Governments Deregulation Bill, which is to be voted on by MPs tomorrow.
http://www.mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/220669450-taxi-and-minicab-law-changes-could-threaten-passenger-safety-warns-denton-mp
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CAMBRIDGE.
Taxi wars as drivers protest over threats and intimidation and call on Cambridge council to crack down on rogue cabbies
Taxi drivers say they are being threatened and intimidated by rogue private hire motorists and claim council officers will not come out at night in Cambridge to crack down on the “danger” to residents.
Cambridge Hackney Carriage Association, which represents about 200 drivers, says its members have been met with threats and intimidation from private hire drivers fighting for trade and called on the city council to brave the night.
A spokesman said: “You need an enforcement officer from each team to be able to combat this but to our dismay no enforcement is out when this problem is at its worse from about 1.30am-4am.
“We keep asking the council to come and actively enforce the rules but they say they don’t get paid to come out at that time.”
He added: “This has been going on for years under the noses of police and CCTV and is our biggest problem in the trade as these cars are easily mistaken for taxis as they have company logos on them and they line the streets especially Regent Street and St Andrew’s Street of a night time and some have even taken to taking hails in front of taxis.
“When other taxi drivers confront them they are met with threats and aggression.”
The cars are licensed by district and the city council, and the group wants them to crack down on the trade.
The spokesman said not dealing with the rogue drivers is “risking public health but in the scheme of things this is in a very small area and can be very easily policed”.
A council spokesman said: “Over the past 18 months we have taken approximately 20 prosecutions for drivers plying for hire illegally and not having the correct car insurance. Licensing officers will continue to carry out regular visits within the city to carry out enforcement and work closely with the police and officers from other councils.
“We remind drivers of their responsibilities and the taxi guide clearly states this. If any member of public has any concerns we ask them to look at the following web page www.cambridge.gov.uk/hackney-carriage-and-private-hire which states the difference between a hackney carriage and a private hire vehicle.”
Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambridge/Taxi-wars-as-drivers-face-threats-and-intimidation-and-call-on-Cambridge-council-to-crack-down-on-rogues-20140620144307.htm#ixzz35RGcsevg
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GLASGOW
A TAXI driver and a pensioner were last night fighting for life in hospital after horrific violence exploded on a quiet street.
Andy Burns, 44, was stabbed before 68-year-old Jean Evans suffered serious knife wounds after going to help.
Their alleged assailant was also in hospital recovering from self-inflicted injuries after an apparent suicide attempt.
A passing hackney cab driver realised something was wrong when he saw the private hire car stopped at an angle in the street.
He then saw the driver struggle from the vehicle in Eastfield Avenue in Glasgow’s Cambuslang at around 8pm on Friday.
He said: “I went to do a U-turn intending to come back, block them and try to help.
“By the time I had done this, the victim had managed to get out of the car. He tried to break into a run but faltered and fell.
“At the same time, the other man attempted to get away having moved into the driver’s seat.
“But the car was stalling as he tried to get away.
“The driver I share my taxi with joined me and chased after him trying to get a registration.
“After I got the registration I phoned an ambulance and the police, everything. I was on to the police as I was chasing him.
“I then went back to the scene to see if the guy was all right but there were people there helping him already”
Dad-of-three Andy’s face was slashed and his neck stabbed while inside his car.
He also suffered injuries to his hands and body as he tried to defend himself from the attack.
Mark AndersonThe street in Eastfield, Glasgow, where two people were stabbed.
The private hire car came to a halt a few hundred yards down the street where Jean was stabbed in the chest after she left her garden.
Her next door neighbour Maureen Kenny, 77, said she was watching television when she became aware of an incident outside.
She said: “The first I noticed was all the police cars, there were people all rushing about.
“I saw a neighbour come across with a duvet and then I went outside and saw Jean being stretchered into an ambulance.
“I asked police if her son knew what was happening and they asked me for his mobile number. I saw blood all down the path and then later realised she must have been trying to reach me to get help.
“Our back gardens are divided by a piece if wood and there was blood all over her side and less blood on my side.
“I felt awful. Jean was a good neighbour, but a very private woman.
“She lost her husband around five years ago. She would come in for a chat but I always asked her to family events and she never came.
“Her son Stephen still lived with her and she had two other boys. She was always working in her garden and I saw her in there around 6pm on Friday.
“I spoke to Stephen and he said she’s had surgery and the family is all still in shock.”
Maureen added: “She is retired now but used to run a cafe at the Barras.”
Neighbour Murray Wilson, 44, said: “I know two of the people who ran out to help the taxi driver and Jean. They’re both in a terrible state of shock.
“The taxi driver jumped out his car covered in blood and screamed for help from another neighbour who was sitting in his garden.”
Within an hour of the stabbing a 33-year-old man was detained by armed police two miles away in Lochbrae Drive.
Police said yesterday that they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the attacks. It is unclear if there was any motive.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-taxi-attack-witnesses-tell-3741526
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