South Oxfordshire District Council prosecuted Tariq Mehmood after he carried on driving a licensed hackney carriage once his driver's licence had been suspended. High Wycombe Magistrates' Court found him guilty on Friday 16 October 2026 of driving a licensed hackney carriage without a hackney carriage driver's licence, driving without valid insurance, and failing to return his council-issued driver's badge.
How the licence was suspended
Mr Mehmood, 48, of Hamilton Road, Reading, held a hackney carriage driver's licence with the council from May 2023. Every licensed driver must have an enhanced criminal record check, known as a DBS check, and stay signed up to the DBS Update Service, so the council can see at once if a record changes. When his Update Service subscription lapsed, the council suspended his licence in December 2024.
He kept working as a taxi driver from 9 December 2024 to 8 January 2025. In that period he was on school transport, taking vulnerable children to and from school. The council learnt of the unlicensed work after an altercation at the school. With no driver's licence in force, his insurance did not cover the journeys. He also failed to return his badge while the licence was suspended. The law requires that badge to be handed back.
He pleaded not guilty to all three charges and did not attend the trial.
The sentence
District Judge Sharma fined him £660, with a victim surcharge of £264 and £1,000 towards the council's prosecution costs. The total is £1,924. Eight penalty points were added to his DVLA licence. He is no longer licensed by South Oxfordshire District Council to drive taxis or private hire vehicles.
What drivers are being told
Cllr Georgina Heritage, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: "Our licensing checks exist to make sure that anyone who gets into a taxi in South Oxfordshire is in safe hands. That's why we require every driver to keep an up-to-date criminal record check, so we can be sure they remain safe to carry passengers. When Mr Mehmood's lapsed, we suspended his licence and he knew he could no longer work, but he kept on driving, leaving his passengers, including vulnerable children, uninsured and at risk. When we take a driver off the road, they must stay off it – and anyone who continues driving can expect to face prosecution."
A driver licensed by the council has to keep an enhanced DBS check subscribed to the Update Service for the life of the licence. If that licence is suspended or revoked, the driver must stop working at once and return the badge. Work done without a licence is also likely to leave the insurance invalid.