Wife killer set to become black cab driver cautioned for assault
A wife-killer who has been allowed to train as a
The 38-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested by police in June after admitting assault. Transport for London was made aware of the caution but still allowed the man to continue taking the exam to become a taxi driver.
Earlier this week the Standard revealed TfL had given permission for the man, a paranoid schizophrenic, to take the Knowledge even though they were aware he had been convicted of manslaughter after strangling his wife in 2000. But TfL officials failed to mention the man's more recent assault conviction when defending their actions earlier this week.
Jeroen Weimar, TfL's director of enforcement and compliance, told BBC London: "The independent medical opinion is that this man poses no danger to the public and is fit and proper to train to be a taxi driver."
A TfL spokesman said today: "We can confirm that the man made us aware that he had received a caution for assault. As a result, we suspended his Knowledge appearances for one month and warned him that if he came to our attention again, he would not be allowed to continue taking the exam."
The man's suspension has ended and he has now resumed his studies. However, the TfL spokesman said: "We do recognise that this is an issue of public concern. Passenger safety is our first priority. We will include this decision [on the assault] in the scope of the independent review we have commissioned into our actions." Politicians and the cab trade reacted with disbelief. "It makes you wonder what TfL is doing," said Tory Assembly member Andrew Boff. "You just cannot put the public at risk like this. They need to sort this out quickly otherwise they will damage the reputation of the best taxi service in the world."
TfL says it is powerless to act because the killer was detained under the Mental Health Act, meaning his conviction is "spent" under offender rehabilitation laws after five years. The assault caution is also "spent".
However, the review commissioned by TfL will examine whether the authority could have acted differently. Although TfL describes it as "independent", it will be conducted by two former senior officials at the Public Carriage Office, the division of TfL responsible for the cab trade.
Alan Fleming, former chairman of the London Cab Drivers' Club, described TfL's behaviour as "outrageous" and said the law did give it the power to block the killer from training.
He said: "The 1934 Cab Order gives the licensing authority a discretionary power to reject applicants and they should use it," he said.
Cabbies are planning a protest demonstration outside the PCO. At least one female examiner at the office has refused to be in the same room as the killer.
