Glasgow private hire driver who spat at man while working refused new licence

Mr Shah was convicted of assault
-Credit:Getty


A private hire driver who acted “aggressively” and spat on a man while at work has been refused a new licence.

Syed Shah’s bid to renew his private hire car driver’s licence was thrown out by Glasgow licensing chiefs following an objection by Police Scotland.

An officer said Mr Shah had been sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work due to an incident in 2023.

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She said the applicant, while working as a private hire driver, had reportedly behaved in a “threatening or abusive manner”.

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Councillors were told he did “shout, swear and act in a threatening manner towards another male” and then “assaulted the male when he spat on him”.

Police Scotland believes he is “no longer a fit and proper person to be holder of a licence”. Mr Shah said he was “very sorry” and claimed people had been giving him “a really hard time”.

Cllr Alex Wilson, SNP, who chairs the licensing committee, said the applicant had “behaved in a totally unreasonable fashion as a private hire car driver”.

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“Being a driver in this city is not easy,” he added. “You are confronted with people who have been drinking alcohol, on drugs or whatever.

“You get groups of people who are acting in all manner of ways. They will push every button you’ve got.”

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He told Mr Shah he had to “rise above that”. “You didn’t rise above it, that’s the problem.”

The committee decided to refuse his application for a three-year licence. Bailie Hanif Raja, Labour, recorded his dissent with the ruling.

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