Blackpool taxi driver expressed anti-LGBT views, council told

The council committee found the driver was "not a fit and proper person to hold a licence"

A taxi driver has lost their licence after a passenger complained to a council that they openly "expressed transphobic and homophobic views".

A Blackpool Council committee heard the driver, who was not identified, was the subject of two complaints.

They also "handed out religious literature" and sought to "impose their faith", one complainant said.

The committee found the driver was "not a fit and proper person to hold a licence".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the hearing was told the driver was the subject of a complaint by a passenger in October 2022 after they shared "controversial views" and made them "feel unsafe".

That led the driver to be dismissed by their then-employer and receive a verbal warning from the council's licensing service.

'No recollection'

According to council minutes, the hearing was told the driver subsequently attended a committee meeting, accompanied by a representative of the Blackpool Licensed Taxi Operators Association, and "denied that anything offensive had been said".

They were then the subject of another complaint in April 2023, in which a passenger claimed the driver had used their position "to impose their faith", had "expressed transphobic and homophobic views" and had left them "feeling distressed" and concerned for their own and others' safety.

The hearing was told the driver, who had received a Blackpool Taxi Driver of the Year medal for helping a injured woman get home free of charge, had "no recollection of the incident" and regarded the complaint as "malicious".

They were also accused of using the phrase "you-know-whats" in reference to people living in the Midlands ,but said they had no recollection of saying it and as such, did not know what was meant by it.

Following consideration, councillors decided the nature of the complaints meant the driver was "not a fit and proper person to hold a licence" and therefore ordered it to be revoked.