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Bid to put brakes on gangster taxi firms
GANGSTERS face being forced out of the taxi trade by tough new laws unveiled by the Scottish Government last night. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill revealed he would bring in legislation that would stop organised crime taking over private hire firms and using them as a cover for money laundering, drug dealing and prostitution.
The new law will introduce a licensing scheme for private hire firms, allowing police to object to permits on the grounds of criminal behaviour. MacAskill warned last year that taxi firms linked with organised crime were expanding from their traditional heartlands in and around Glasgow to Edinburgh and other areas.
He told Scotland on Sunday last night: "Tackling serious organised crime is one of the Scottish Government's top priorities, and where it infiltrates legitimate business, including the taxi and private hire trade, we expect the police to take firm action.
"We won't allow hardworking cabbies who borrow from the bank or mortgage their home to buy a cab and make a living to be driven off the road by crooks and gangsters."
MacAskill added: "We expect to introduce legislation in the near future that will provide for police checks through the licensing of booking offices to be carried out on those responsible for the operation of such businesses, as well as enabling police and licensing enforcement personnel access for inspection of premises and records.
"We hope these measures will act as a deterrent to unlawful activity and send a clear message to organised criminals that there is no room in this industry for those who want to use it as a front for their illegal activities."
Detectives have long feared that organised crime has put private hire firms in a stranglehold, partly because of 'soft-touch' regulation of the industry. Councils have powers to license drivers of taxis and private hire cars but not the radio booking offices that control them.
MacAskill's proposed new laws would put in place a licensing regime for radio rooms and their owners. Police insiders said they wanted the power to warn licensing authorities if a taxi firm's owner has links with gangsters.
Gangland figures rarely put their names to the companies they use to launder their profits, preferring to employ "frontmen" as official owners. But police hope that rigorous checks would expose some owners as what one officer called "gangland stooges".
Last year Scottish police forces carried out a nationwide study of the private hire trade and were concerned by the levels of underworld activity they discovered.
A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "Intelligence analysis revealed that a small number of taxi companies were either owned by, or had links to, organised crime, using the business to transport money, drugs and prostitutes."
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council last night said: "There can be no doubt that the ability to regulate radio or booking offices in addition to individual drivers would make a massive difference to the way firms operate in Glasgow."
The authority, like several other public bodies, including the BBC, has previously given work to firms with reputed gangland links. Officials privately admit that, under European procurement laws, there is little they can presently do to reject gang-related private hire firms.
Detectives, tired of seeing known criminals profit from the taxi business, are believed to have been lobbying hard for tougher new licensing regimes.
One said: "This is a significant concern. A lot of people in the police have been pushing for changes in the legislation. We want to be able to tell licensing authorities that such-and-such is a known associate of so-and-so; that there is intelligence that the owner of a taxi firm has criminal connections."
Opposition politicians last night signalled they would welcome MacAskill's plans. Charlie Gordon, a Labour MSP and former leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "I think anybody of a local government background like mine would be interested in this kind of legislation. In principle, I would be keen to support this."
One well-known face in the legitimate taxi business last night wished the Government's new policy well, but added: "I think it might all be too late."
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