The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has revoked a taxi driver’s licence with immediate effect after a DBS check showed undeclared convictions for illegally taking private hire work in London.
The driver has not been named. Officers are reporting the case to the Licensing Panel on 12 October 2026 under the council’s rules for urgent public-safety revocations.
What the convictions were
According to the panel appendix, Driver A was convicted on 8 October 2025 for offences committed on 12 July 2025:
Making or accepting a private hire booking in London without holding a London PHV operator licence — Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 — fine £4,440, costs £295, victim surcharge £132
Taxi touting — soliciting people for hire-car services while unlicensed — Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 — fine £440
Using a vehicle without third-party insurance — Road Traffic Act 1988 — fine £440
Failing to comply with a requirement from a constable or authorised officer — Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 — fine £440
Total fines and costs: £6,187.
RBWM’s summary says acting as an unlicensed operator and driver “deceives the public, completely undermines the licensing system and puts the passenger in an uninsured vehicle driven by an uninsured driver.”
What the driver did not declare
None of those convictions appeared on the driver’s RBWM licence application.
Transport for London had already revoked him on 17 January 2026 for complaints about abuse or behaviour towards a passenger (non-sexual). On the RBWM form, he ticked “No” to whether he had previously held a hackney carriage or private hire driver licence with RBWM or anyone else.
Officers say that dishonesty — failing to declare both the convictions and the earlier TfL revocation, while signing that the form was true and accurate — weighed heavily in the decision.
Immediate effect — and why it matters
This was an officer revocation with immediate effect under section 61 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, on public-safety grounds. The driver can appeal to a magistrates’ court.
The same panel papers also note a second immediate revocation (Driver B) for undeclared handling-stolen-goods proceedings — a separate case.
For the trade, the London half of this story is familiar: out-of-area or unlicensed work, touting and missing hire-and-reward cover. The Berkshire half is the disclosure failure: a DBS catch after the form was signed clean. RBWM’s Licensing Panel is due the same day to discuss wider taxi vehicle and age-limit proposals.