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Highland Lib Dems Expel John Grafton After Taxi Licence Vote
The group backed a review after public outcry over a decision to let convicted rapist David Brown keep his taxi operator’s licence.
- On Sunday, the Liberal Democrat Group expelled Highland councillor John Grafton with immediate effect following his vote to allow a convicted rapist to retain a taxi operator's license.
- Last month, the Highland Council licensing committee voted to allow David Brown, serving a six-year, nine-month sentence, to keep his operator's license, with six male councillors outvoting four female members.
- Following intense backlash, Grafton and committee chair Sean Kennedy resigned from the board on Friday alongside councillors Duncan Macpherson and Willie MacKay, with MacKay also quitting the council entirely.
- Rape Crisis Scotland branded the decision "deeply harmful," and legal officers filed paperwork to allow all 74 councillors to review the ruling after the summer recess.
- The Liberal Democrat group pledged on Sunday to review committee procedures, ensuring the "Fit and Proper" test remains central to all decisions and that "women's, children's and public safety is recognised as being of paramount importance.
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6 Articles
6 Articles
Taxi Licence Decision Raises Questions Over Judgement and Public Confidence
The decision by six Highland councillors to allow David Brown’s taxi operator’s licence to continue despite his rape conviction has prompted searching questions about judgement, accountability and public confidence in the licensing system. For many people, the debate is no longer simply about licensing procedures. It is about the choices elected representatives make and how those choices are perceived by the communities they serve. Brown is serv…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources6
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution75% Left
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources lean Left
75% Left
L 75%
C 25%
Factuality
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