The former deputy leader of Rotherham Council has had his taxi driver’s licence suspended.

Rotherham Council said Jahangir Akhtar, who lost his seat on the council last year, has had his licence ‘suspended with immediate effect but not revoked’.

But the reason for the suspension has not been made public.

A spokeswoman said: “The normal process for such matters is now being followed. Mr. Akhtar will have the right to appeal this decision at the Magistrates’ Court.”

Concerns about Mr Akhtar were highlighted several times in the recent Casey report on the Rotherham Council response to dealing with child sexual exploitation.

The report said he had been a ‘powerful figure’ in Rotherham politics. Ms Casey said while some of those interviewed had been ‘complimentary’ about him, ‘several other members, officers and others spoke about him with a level of fear’.

Her report added inspectors were told he had ‘made representations on behalf of taxi drivers’ to speed up licences being issued ahead of CRB checks, while he was also said to have ‘brought pressure to bear’ on officers to stop proposals to undertake unannounced taxi safety checks.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/ex-rotherham-council-deputy-leader-has-taxi-licence-suspended-1-7138816
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Brighton, are the driver's such Dummies

A taxi driver was tricked out of a fare by two passengers who left a fully clothed mannequin in the car for the final leg of the journey - and promised their 'sleeping' friend would settle the bill.

The driver, known only as 'Stutter', was hailed for a late-night journey from Brighton train station to London by three men who agreed on a fee.

They all got into the cab and headed up to the capital but one of the passengers was said to be 'sleeping'. The driver dropped the first man off before heading to the second person's home.
Upon arrival, the second man got out, thanked the driver and gave the address of their friend in the back seat and asked him to wake him up when he got to his house.

The driver then arrived at the last address and tried to wake the person up to let them know he was home - but realised it was a fully-clothed mannequin.

Andy Cheesman, CityCabs boss in Brighton, East Sussex, said: 'Three people got into a cab at Brighton train station.

'It was about 2am in the morning and they asked to be taken to London and agreed a fee with the driver.

'When they got to London the first one got out then asked for his friends to be dropped off at a second address.

'When he got to the second address the guy got out and said "my mate is still asleep, can you take him to his address, please".

'When he got there the driver couldn't wake him up to start with, then he realised it was a fully-clothed mannequin wearing a hat.
'He was expecting the last passenger to pay the fare so he lost the whole lot. It would have probably been around £140.

'It has been the funniest thing which has happened to one of our drivers. You can imagine the stick the driver got from the other workers when he got back to Brighton - it was hilarious.'

http://goo.gl/0J7io2