BAD LEGISLATION WAS REAL CULPRIT IN ILLEGAL MINICAB SEXUAL ASSAULTS

12.00.00am GMT Thu 14th Dec 2006

On the week the Mayor of London launched a new TV ad on the dangers of illegal minicabs, London Assembly Liberal Democrats have revealed that a loophole in the law has prevented police from catching and convicting taxi touts guilty of sexual assaults in the last year.

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, which came into force on 1 January 2006 made it almost impossible for police to arrest taxi touts and retrieve DNA samples, which have previously helped resolve hundreds of cases of rape. The changes also caused the number of arrests to plummet from 800 a year to just 70, in a move to protect the drivers' human rights.

The law was finally reversed early this week.

Liberal Democrat Policing Spokesperson on the London Assembly, Dee Doocey, said:

"This is a typical example of a Labour government that has over-legislated itself into reverse gear.

'The right laws were in place three years ago. But the government effectively decriminalised taxi touting and stripped police officers of the powers to tackle this serious crime.

'It is astonishing that government that prides itself on being tough on crime has actually made it easier for criminals to carry on their activity under the cover of illegal taxi touting. We may never know how many potential rapists have slipped through the net. It is absurd to be talking about the supposed human rights of taxi touts rather than how to protect vulnerable women from the ultimate nightmare."