Taxi Driver Online

East Lothian taxi driver with Covid-19 put vulnerable passengers lives at risk



A taxi driver put the lives of his passengers at risk after continuing to pick up fares despite being diagnosed with coronavirus.

Gordon Leadbetter, 59, picked up “vulnerable” members of the public after he had tested positive for the killer virus and had been ordered to stay at home and self-isolate.

Leadbetter exposed his unaware passengers to the “risk of a heightened communication of transmission” of the SARS-CoV-2 disease while they were in his cab over the festive period last year.

The taxi driver appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday (TUES) where he pleaded guilty to culpably and recklessly carrying on his business as a taxi driver to the danger of his passengers lives and health between December 17 and 26 last year.

Sheriff Chris Dickson was told the Crown had not prepared a written narrative regarding the case and as a result no details of the offence were read out in court.

The sheriff accepted the driver’s guilty plea and deferred sentence for the preparation of reports and for the written narration to be prepared to next month.

Leadbetter, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, was granted bail.

He pleaded guilty to culpably and recklessly carrying on business as a taxi driver and allowing passengers to enter his vehicle including those he knew to be particularly vulnerable to infection of SARS-CoV-2 due to their medical conditions.

The charge states the taxi driver carried out the course of conduct after testing positive for the Covid 19 virus and ought to have been self-isolating and thus did expose his passengers to immediate risk of transmission of the virus, all to the danger of their lives and health at various locations between December 17 and 26 last year.

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IDFIMH

I called him an idiot because that's what he clearly is.

However I wonder how many desperate drivers out there have done likewise in the last 16 months?

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IDFIMH

Covid-positive Scots taxi driver put lives at risk by picking up fares including care home workers, hospital patients and pensioners

A callous taxi driver put the lives of his passengers at risk by picking up fares despite being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Gordon Leadbetter accepted fares from pensioners including a 91-year-old woman, an 82-year-old man and care home workers after testing positive last December.

Leadbetter, 59, also ferried desperately ill passengers to and from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary who were attending for dialysis treatment while failing to wear a protective mask.

The cabbie tested positive for coronavirus the day after his wife was diagnosed with the killer disease and had been rushed into hospital for urgent treatment.

Leadbetter, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, was caught out after a neighbour heard of his positive test result and phoned his employers to air their concerns.

He was suspended from the Edinburgh taxi company following a board meeting on December 26 last year and was subsequently arrested and charged by police two weeks later.

Leadbetter pleaded guilty to culpably and recklessly accepting vulnerable passengers into his taxi between December 17 and 26 last year after he had been tested positive for the virus when he appeared at the capital's sheriff court last month.

He was back in the dock for sentencing today where Sheriff Chris Dickson said he had carried out "a very serious offence" and had put "a number of patients at risk."

Leadbetter was spared a jail term and instead was placed on a 12-month supervision order and told he must complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

He will also be electronically tagged and must stay within his home for the next eight months between the hours of 9pm and 5am.

Prosecutor Debbie King told the court Leadbetter was a self-employed taxi driver who drove a seven-seater black Ford Transit Pro-Cab.

Ms King said there was "potential threat to the most vulnerable areas of society" while he continued to work and had accepted 52 jobs between being tested and suspended.

The fiscal listed a number of passengers who had been put at risk including a 91-year-old care home resident, a 71-year-old dialysis patient and a 61-year-old with a heart condition who had been shielding.

The taxi driver also accepted fares from an 82-year-old dialysis patient, several care home workers and a support worker who helped elderly and vulnerable people with dementia.

The taxi company received an anonymous tip off stating Leadbetter was continuing to drive his cab despite having been told to self-isolate due to testing positive for Covid the week previously.

Solicitor Victoria Good, defending said her client had worked as a taxi driver for 18 years and had been "struggling financially" in the run up to Christmas.

Ms Good said Leadbetter had displayed "no symptoms" and had "stupidly" decided to carry on working despite the positive test result.

Leadbetter admitted to culpably and recklessly carrying on business as a taxi driver and permitting passengers to enter his taxi, including those he knew to be vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus, after being tested positive for the virus and should have been self-isolating between December 17 and 26 last year.

The charge also stated Leadbetter exposed the passengers to immediate risk of health and exposed them to risk of heightened communication of transmission of the virus, all to the danger of their lives and health.

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IDFIMH

maybe some will have been unaware they had it

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

On a similar subject I wonder how many taxi/PH drivers actually have the NHS 'test and trace' app?

Maybe not as many taxi/PH drivers as have deleted the NHS 'test and trace' app.

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IDFIMH