On 5th December Sadiq Khan revealed that "several breaches that placed passenger and their safety at risk" was one of the reasons Uber didn't have their licence renewed in London. Khan claimed that a driver who was suspended for possessing an obscene image of a child was able to continue driving. Speaking to James O'Brien on LBC, the Mayor of London said,
"Tfl, as the regulator, has to have the safety of the public as a priority. Let me tell you the two biggest concerns that TfL have. There have been 14,000 times a passenger has got into an Uber car and the person they thought was driving them wasn't that driver.
"Then, number two, there have been examples when drivers had been suspended or dismissed due to serious concerns. I can now tell you one of them was a driver having obscene photographs of a child on their social media device.
"Yet those drivers who had been suspended or dismissed were able to play the system that Uber has and drive people around.
"Public safety is a priority and the independent experts that TfL hired said the systems aren't robust.
"How can TfL not err on the side of caution and say we're not convinced, we're not going to renew your licence. I don't care how big Uber is. When I am the Mayor, I want a system where everyone plays by the rules."
Now, Uber's rival Ola is expected to penetrate the London market in the American driving company's absence.
Andy Roe, London's new fire commissioner
In the meantime, London Mayor has also announced the city's new fire commissioner, after Dany Cotton was forced to step down last week in the face of criticism for her role in the Grenfell fire. Her deputy Andy Roe will step up to the top job and lead “transformational change”.
The phase one inquiry into the tragedy found that the London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) advice for residents to stay in their homes may have cost lives. It also found that the firefighters were not trained well enough to adequately deal with the disaster. Khan said,
“The Grenfell Tower inquiry report made it clear there were institutional failures that meant, while firefighters performed with great courage and bravery, the overall response to the disaster was not good enough, and there are significant lessons for London Fire Brigade.”
Roe will be responsible in helping Sir Martin Moore-Bick in phase two of his enquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. The inquiry will focus on factors that lead to the fire, including the use of flammable cladding in the building.
