CITY POLICE IMPOSE SEC14 ON TAXI DEMONSTRATION MONDAY 16th JANUARY 2017

Section 14 Public Order Act 1986 ​

In order to prevent serious disruption to the life of the community, the following condition has been placed upon the event due to take place on the highway:

1. A static assembly must only take place within the roads inside the area of (and not including) West of King William Street, West of Gracechurch Street, South of London Wall, East of St Martin’s Le Grand, East of New Change, East of Friday Street, East of Lambeth Hill, North of Upper Thames Street
2. Any assembly may only take place for a maximum of 90 minutes from 1500hrs.

If you take part in the public assembly today you must adhere to this condition. Failure to do so may lead to arrest and prosecution.

The condition may be subject to change by the Senior Officer present – if in doubt please consult a Police Officer.​

Editorial Comment:

The above section 14 as far as I can see, only covers Monday. 

Taxi Leaks has been sent this statement from the Independant Taxi Allience (ITA) and asked to post it on this blog. 

On Monday if the police order us to move. We move.

We are entitled to work in the City of London; so after moving off, we are entitled to return to ply our trade.

If a policeman tell us to head off up Cornhill, we will.

And once we have complied, we may go to the area we feel we can best earn our living.

If we do not exercise our right to ply our trade in the City, that trade will be stolen from us, with the aid of the Metropoitan Police, the City of London Police, Transport for London and the Corporation of the City of London.

We must make sure we ply now or forever lose that right!

Policemen who are also Taxi drivers have warned us to keep your cameras rolling. And report any officer who is not displaying identification.

Some of these City of London officials who want us out and buses in, belong to the same lodge as the Commissioner. So do not expect fairness.

If the City plays dirty, we will have to change tactics. We may go on foot protests, or choose another venue within the Square Mile.

If we feel threatened, we will lock our taxis up and leave them where they stand.

Remember Ian Tomlinson, the innocent newspaper vendor who was killed by police.

So the bottom line is do what the police tell you to do. But you have every right to return to find work.

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WhatsApp messages can be intercepted by governments or hackers – but there's an easy way to fix it

WhatsApp has a gaping secuirty hole in the middle of its app. But it can be easily fixed.

An issue with the way that the app deals with the security keys central to its encryption mean that people can actually spy on messages, one security researcher has found. End-to-end encryption is intended as a way of ensuring that messages can only be read by the sender and their intended recipient, but the encryption keys that power that technology can be a weak link if tehy are wrongly used.

WhatsApp's implementation of end-to-end encryption – which is a large part of the company's focus on privacy and security – uses the widely-respected Signal protocol. That protocol relies on unique security keys that are swapped between users so that each device can check that they are sending and receiving messages to and from the right one.

Gadgets and tech news in pictures

But WhatsApp can force users to change those keys, and they won't be made aware. That means that theoretically a hacker would be able to poke around messages without the app knowing that someone else is actually reading them.

The problem means that WhatsApp's encryption can be circumvented, allowing people to look in on messages, The Guardian reported. But the issue isn't necessarily new and the means to fix it are present within the WhatsApp app.

It isn't clear why the option isn't turned on by default, but it is probably because it is thought to be rare that people would look to exploit the issue and because any messages would probably mostly serve to be confusing. But turning it on is easy and the notifications are simple 

The option is found by opening up WhatsApp and heading to the Settings menu by clicking the cog. In there, click account and then Security – that page has just one option, "Show Security Notifications", and they are turned on from there.

Once that option is switched, the app will alert you every time a key changes. In most cases, that will probably be nothing to worry about – the app changes those keys when someone gets a new phone, for instance – but will serve as an alert if something is amiss with the app.

The change doesn't actually stop the messages coming through, and so if the notification is triggered unexpectedly it is best to stop chatting until a secure method of chatting can be established instead.

On that same page, WhatsApp explains the function of the notifications. "Turn on this setting ot receive notifications when a contact's security code is changed," it writes. "The messages you send and your calls are encrypted regardless of this setting, when possible".

How to opt out of new WhatsApp's terms of use

That "when possible" refers to the fact that WhatsApp only enables encrypted chats when both people communicating are on an up-to-date version of the app. If that is in place, the app shows a yellow label alerting its users to it.

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And Now The Truth About TfL's Responsibility For Cross Boarder Hiring, From HM Government, No Less.

TfL have always claimed they have no jurisdiction over their licensed vehicles working in other areas....but that's not true and now we've just been told it's not true by the The Petitions team, UK Government and Parliament. 

Here are the important paragraphs.

Licensing authorities remain responsible for ensuring that the drivers they license remain fit and proper throughout the period of the licence. Any complaints about a driver can be investigated by the authority responsible for issuing the licence, regardless of where the driver was working at the time.

If vehicles from neighbouring areas present a problem, licensing authorities can work together to take joint enforcement action against all vehicles and drivers licensed in their combined areas. For example, in Merseyside, five licensing authorities allow each other to enforce against all vehicles and drivers across all of their areas.

Legislation allows taxis to provide pre-booked journeys outside the area in which they are licensed, without a separate PHV licence. The Government considers that it is in the public interest to encourage taxis to accept fares that may take them out of the area in which they are licensed, for example to airports or train stations. 

This concession has, in the past been open to abuse, with taxi drivers working predominantly accepting pre-booked fares outside the area in which they were licensed. The courts, while careful not to direct how a licensing authority should exercise its discretion to grant licences, have commented that it would be “difficult” to justify granting a taxi licence where a licensing authority knows the applicant has no intention of plying for hire in its area. It is the local licensing authority’s discretion as to whether or not to license such a vehicle, however to remain within the spirit of the legislation, the authority should consider the intended use of the licence.

Local licensing authorities are therefore able to address any local concerns that there may be about this issue. A number of local licensing authorities have already introduced a taxi ‘intended use’ policy when considering licence applications. 

These policies are reducing the number of taxis working predominantly on pre-booked fares in other areas. If there are particular concerns in a specific area, these should be raised with the relevant licensing authorities.

Thanks,
The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament

This isn't what TfL have been saying, in fact they have been lying to us....but then, we are used to that from TfL directors as they have firm for telling lies.

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TfL Licensed Uber driver Convicted Of Touting In Cheltenham, Keeps His TfL Licence.

Editorial News Extra: 

Uber driver arrested in March 2016, convicted of touting on January 2017, carried on working with TfL blessing.

A London Uber driver has been found guilty of unlawfully plying for hire in Cheltenham, during the National Hunt Festival.

Abdifatah Hagi Abdikadir, from Emanuel Avenue in London, was parked near Cheltenham Spa railway station at around 12.14am on March 17, Cheltenham magistrates heard on Monday, January 9. 

A group of men approached the defendant's vehicle and after a short exchange got in and the vehicle and it drove off.

Further inquiries by Cheltenham Borough Council revealed that the defendant was licensed by Transport for London as a private hire driver. In interview under caution he admitted he was an Uber driver, said a Cheltenham Borough Council spokesman.

This man is still licensed by TfL today. 

He was fined £1,500 and also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £150 and costs of £1,000.

The prosecution was brought by Cheltenham Borough Council and Councillor Andy McKinlay, cabinet member for development and safety, said after the hearing: 

“This is the fifth successful prosecution by the council of an Uber driver who tried to unlawfully ply their hire in Cheltenham.

“This puts public safety and protection at risk because there is no assurance that these drivers are properly vetted, their vehicles are fit for use and they are not insured to do what they are doing.

“As we begin to plan for this year's Gold Cup Festival week, this should serve as a stark reminder that the council will catch unlicensed drivers and bring them to justice."

Sarah Hughes, licensing enforcement officer, said: 

“These prosecutions give a warning to drivers who wish to capitalise on the additional footfall to Cheltenham during Gold Cup week that we will take action should they operate unlawfully. 

This is just another example of a driver being prosecuted by the council for operating unlawfully during Cheltenham Gold Cup week and as a result we will continue to put additional staff on the streets during major races to monitor such activity."

Sarah Hughes, how do you fancy a job at TfL, I know of 25,000 drivers who would support your application.  

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Mayor Khan Must Act Immediately : How Have These Two Still Got A Job At TfL ....by Jim Thomas.

We don't like being repetitive, and I know that so far this week we've already had two posts on this scandalous story. 

But a new video has been made available for viewing on YouTube which shows just how serious the problem has now become. And it's getting worse!!!

    

Please listen to this YouTube video of the Sadie Nines show on BBC radio Essex.

Mark Jennings (SLTDA) says:

"It's not just drivers, residents are asking, how has this been allowed to happen?"

Councillor Tony Cox (Southend Council) says:

"It's a scandal of epedemic proportions"

We know directors from TfL have lied on multiple occasions, covering up contraventions made by a couple of their highly regarded licensed PH operators. The RubyLee signage was illegal, so TfL changed the rules on liveries. More recently they've massaged and spun statistics in fear they might frighten away the public from using another premium stake holder's service.

Crimes against passengers have been hidden by TfL!

And we are not about parking on ranks, touting, over charging or driving down oneway streets the wrong way....we are talking rape and serious sexual assaults. Soon we could be talking about murder as well.

The Taxi trade have a Freedom of Information request which showed154 attacks in just 6 London boroughs and yet after months of delay, promised figures requested from TFL for the whole of London's 32 boroughs, showed a substantially lower amount....with no viable explanation. 

TfL's Directors and managers have allegedly formed corrupt connections with third party companies and are disregarding not only regulation but legislation laid down by Parliament. Regulations are being changed regularly to suit third parties who refused to conform to standing legislation. 

A new PH driver's licence is issued every 4 minutes.

An average of 600 per week.

TfL are processing so many new PHVs licenses, it has become impossible to do efficient criminal records checks, credible medical fitness examinations and the suitability of most applicants as fit and proper persons, is highly questionable.

A few months ago we saw Mahiddin Mire, an Uber driver with a long standing history of recorded mental health problems, try to murder a passenger at Leytonstone underground station by slitting his throat. 

We then heard, Uber drivers were/are being coached through topographical tests -given the answers with the questions. 

At the same time we found applicants were/are able to purchase fake medical passes. 

And yet TfL have done little to stop this practise. 

Many, if not all the drivers in question have retained their PHV licenses on an understanding that they may have to resit a medical when their licence compensation up for renewal in three years time. So far, we've heard of no prosecutions which have taken place. 

Cross boarder problems at Southend, care of Baroness Kramer.

Taxi and Private Hire drivers who have been banned from driving, some who have even served time in prison, are back driving for Uber after being licensed by TfL. 

Do we have to wait till a member of the royal family, or another daughter of an MP is murdered before action is taken by the a Mayor?

This situation is disgraceful, it begs the questions: 

Why are Mike Brown and Leon Daniels still employed by TfL ?

Why haven't they been sacked for gross negligence ?

When canvassing support in the mayoral election, Sadiq Khan said if their was so much as one impropriety with one Uber driver, he would revoke the operators licence. He went on to say he would be the Mayor to run Uber out of town. 

Yet now, he's completely reneged on his former promise. 

This problem is not centralised in just London and the south east, it's happening all over the UK, with TfL registered drivers working for Uber and other companies in Reading, Oxford, Brighton, Bournmouth, Portsmouth, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.

What will we be finding out next.

Will Taxi and Private Hire drivers struck off and banned for being rapists or even involved in Paedophile rings such as we've seen in Rotherham be found relicensed by TfL and back driving for Uber ?

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More Insight To What Life Will Be Like Without London's Taxis...

A wheelchair user says he was left on the side of the road by an Uber driver who refused to take him.

Joshua Gardner, had ordered an Uber to take him to the pub to meet his friends on Monday. He regularly uses the ride-sharing app, and sometimes travels with it three times a day.

However the driver refused to take him, apparently saying ‘Disabled people need disabled cars’ before driving off.

Ordering a minicab when you have a lightweight foldable wheelchair is plain and simple,’ Mr Gardner, a 20-year-old freelance journalist, said. ‘It will always fit in a car somewhere – either in the boot or on the seat of a car.

‘Also ordering a minicab in the UK when you’re human is plan and simple. It’s against UK law to refuse a customer because of their disability, race, sex, age or sexuality.

‘Uber broke this law when one of their drivers drove off and left me at the side of the road on Monday night in Leeds. This should never happen.’

Gardner was able to film the driver abandoning him and later post it on social media. It has since been viewed thousands of times, and has received hundreds of comments in support.

He continued: ‘This Uber driver is one of many minicab drivers who have refused me over the years and not only me but many of my friends who have disabilities.

London Black Taxis are all wheelchair accessible, have vivid yellow handles for the visually impaired and have hearing loops built in to intercoms for the hard of hearing. 

When the public kill off the Taxi trade in London by using this company that depends on slave labour, who have fake medical and criminal histories, have no knowledge of the streets and continually take their eyes off the road to study SatNavs, resulting in horrendous accidents, a company that puts up its prices when busy, pays no tax and uses predatory pricing to kill off all competition....this is all that you will have left. 

A company that discriminates against the disabled, the blind, gay and lesbian, a company responsible for massive increase in Passenger sexual assaults including rape.

You gets what you asked for folks.  

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BBC News Criminals Are Dodging Council Ban And Driving For Uber In Southend

Tony Cox, Southend councillor for Transport, says Sadiq Khan should imediatly suspend Uber’s operating licence over banned driver claims.

   

   

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