21 YEARS LATER

TEMPUS FUGIT

In 1897 the Blackwall Tunnel opened, and the first conviction for 'drink driving' was given, to London Taxi driver George Smith.

21 years later we emerged victorious from the muck'n'bullets, to a promise-land fit for heroes.

21 years later the Bosch are at it again.

We bravely fight to free Europe from tyranny and again emerge victorious from the rubble.

21 years later the Germans are having another go.

This time in the World Cup - as Victory is ours once again.

21 years later I become a homeowner, after earning my Green Badge the previous year.

21 years later Boris Johnson becomes Mayor of London, and destroys all we have fought and worked for.

21 years time I shall be 80, and Londoners will be asking, 'Why did those in high office appease Uber to such an extent, they allowed a plague of unknown, unqualified drivers to wreak havoc on the streets of London?'

21 years is too long to wait for the truth to emerge. Act now!

Be lucky.

THE BADGE AND TAXI ON DDD DEMO

NICE TO SEE DADS DEFENDING DAUGHTERS EFFORTS ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE TRADE PRESS

From 'The Badge' - LCDC

From 'Taxi' - LTDA

A big 'thank you' from Dads Defending Daughters, to both trade papers for the coverage. of our efforts.

TAXI APPG

LETTER TEMPLATE TO YOUR MP

Instigated by the London Cab Drivers Club

Email or post this to your local MP.
Simply fill in the name of your MP at the top, and your name at the bottom.
_____________________________________

Dear,

I am writing to you as one of your constituents and a Licensed London Taxi driver.
As you are aware, we have been experiencing major difficulties with our regulator, TFL, on a huge range of issues such as licensing, enforcement and compliance, to name but a few.
In fact the Greater London Assembly (GLA) produced an excellent document on TFL's inadequate management of the Licensed Taxi and Private Hire trades, called 'Future Proof' - where the GLA called TfL's performance "Woefully inadequate."

On the back of this and other major concerns, such as safety and the right to ply for hire, there has now been an 'All Party Parliamentary Group', set up in Parliament, for Taxis:
This has cross party support of many MPs and Lords, who are keen to support the trade and help secure its future.
The two key strands to the APPG would be:

1. Holding the GLA and Sadiq Khan to account for promises made in the Mayor's manifesto.

2. Applying pressure on our Government for fair and positive changes in the law, whilst also addressing Existing laws that are not being enforced.

On this basis, may I request you consider supporting the Licensed Taxi trade, and respectfully ask you to join the APPG, along with your fellow MPs and colleagues from the House of Lords.

I thank you for your time, and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

REPLY FROM THE MAYOR OF LONDON

DON'T PISS UP MY BACK AND TELL ME IT'S RAINING

Dear Mayor Khan,

I would like to thank you for your reply to my email, dated 19 Jul 2016, but I cannot.

I felt your letter, an insult to my intelligence, was a fob.

You did not answer any of my questions or engage with any of my suggestions.

Did you actually read my email?

In your reply you suggest I may be aware of the introduction of more stringent regulations.

Are any of these regulations new?

Or is TfL finally enforcing those already in place, but never previously policed?

Correct Hire & Reward insurance has always been a requirement. TfL decided not to enforce it.

In fact, Leon Daniels lied to the GLA, that Uber had 'on/off' insurance. They did not.

Leon Daniels also lied to the GLA, stating he was in possession of Uber's landline. The landline he offered Ms Shawcross was Jo Bertram's personal number.

So these "more stringent regulations" are nothing more than TfL finally doing their job.

Do Uber now comply with all the specifications laid out by TfL, regarding landline and offices?

And taking into account that Uber have sworn on oath, that they do not receive or handle customer bookings in any way, worldwide; do they still comply to your 'stringent regulations'?

In my email, I proffered three points toward preventing rape and sexual assault in TfL Licensed Minicabs.

1. Scrapping onscreen locations.

2. Banning blacked out windows.

3. A minimum of five years residency.

You acknowledged none of them.

Your reply was like an automated TfL response on Twitter; stating all Private Hire applicants go through an enhanced DBS. "Have a nice day." "You're welcome."

The Licensed London Taxi trade has had enough political sidestepping and untrue truths from your predecessor.

Refugees and asylum seekers are afforded certain exemptions, if the DBS cannot check the applicants' background.

This is unacceptable. Do you expect someone's daughter to get into a car with a stranger?

Are our daughters not as important as yours?

You, along with most MPs and the media, refuse to acknowledge the glaring problem this trade is facing from unchecked predators.

I watched you answer the 'Uber rape' question. You were quick to qualify yourself by saying one rape is one too many. But went on to say that Uber is (only) 32 of 154.

Surely you understand that the rise in sexual assaults since 2012 is because TfL relaxed their regulations to the point of deregulation, to appease Uber.

That deregulation went across the Private Hire board.

No it is not just Uber drivers who have raped and sexually assaulted women during a twelve month period, but because of their influence over TfL, deregulation has been allowed to happen.

Now we all know that serious crime, such as murder, rape and sexual assault can happen to any profession.

Doctors, teachers, politicians, policemen, TV presenters, even Taxi drivers bring shame to their trade - but not on the scale of Uber.

And Uber's safety record is hardly enviable, is it?

It seems a Prius is crashing somewhere in London, daily.

I personally cannot remember one single day where I did not witness an imbecile with a roundel doing something dangerous.

Dads Defending Daughters is concerned about safety.

One of our members knows only too well the horror of being the father of a rape victim.

Rape can destroy lives and families.

You know that it is widely recognised that only ten percent of victims come forward.

TfL or police need to legally enter Uber's premises and view all previous complaints against Uber drivers, and make sure that all have been forwarded on to the correct authorities.

A young woman recently tweeted a complaint to Uber, against a driver for masturbating whilst driving. Did that, and similar complaints ever get reported to the police?

You promote yourself as a family man, who loves his wife and daughters. I do not doubt your sincerity for a second; it's the most natural thing in the world.

What about my daughters? What about everyone else's daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, aunts?

What about our sons? Rape is not gender specific.

If you consciously keep Londoners in the dark, then you are culpable; much the same way as the BBC are with Jimmy Savile.

An informed population may make informed decisions.

We are not going away. In fact the less you do to check this rise in rape and sexual assault, the bigger and stronger we become.

If you are going to reply to this email, please do so having read it.

Kind regards,

Leonard H. Etheridge

Dads Defending Daughters.

LETTER TO THE MAYOR OF LONDON

PREVENTION AND CURE

Dear Mayor Khan,
I acknowledge that you are a busy man, but feel I must impose upon your for one moment, about a subject that I know is close to your heart.

Proud father, Sadiq Khan and family

'Dads Defending Daughters' will stage a static protest at Parliament Square, on Friday 24th June 2016.
This protest is not about you. It is about the state in which your predecessor left London.

Symptoms: Rape and sexual assault.
Our protest will be to highlight the symptoms of a poorly run and corrupt Transport for London and Department for Transport.
Those symptoms are the unacceptable level of rape and sexual assault in TfL licensed Private Hire minicabs.

Cause: Corrupt and unscrupulous officials.
TfL have lowered the standard of Private Hire to an unregulated, 'pay your money, no questions asked' free for all, to accommodate a powerfully backed, tax dodging, foreign company who are prepared to employ the unemployable.
DfT refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room, due to pressure from the likes of Sajid Javid, Baroness Kramer, 'Government' Sachs, David Cameron, George Osborne, bought and paid for MPs and lobbyists; all putting profit and employment figures ahead of your travelling public's safety.
These power orientated people view the public as consumers, not as human beings.

Cure: Mayor's office.
I understand that the EU Referendum is tomorrow. Therefore I do not expect a prompt reply.
Deputy Mayor for Transport, Valerie Shawcross and you have done more in five weeks, than Boris Johnson did in eight years.
You have finally started the engine. Boris never even opened the garage door.

Prevention: Three points to put into force:
No onscreen app location of cabs.
This invites young people to approach a driver, they have seen onscreen, for cash. A common occurrence, suiting both parties.
Leaving no secure proof of journey, and open to the dangers of predators and mistaken identity.

A minimum of five years residency for any PH or Taxi applicant.
No more letters of good conduct from foreign countries or sponsors.
The licensing authority should be able to DBS from a United Kingdom record system.
No one should be left in charge of vulnerable people without an enhanced background check.

The banning of blacked out, obscured and tinted windows.
No one can see if a vulnerable person is in distress.
These are a dangerous and non essential extra, and could be the difference between rape and rescue.

I know you are determined to put forward the capping of Private Hire vehicles.
We Londoners welcome this, for many reasons.
And we do not expect anything to change overnight.
But the regulations that are already in place must be tightened up immediately and enforced correctly.

Please ask yourself these two simple questions:

1. Would I feel at ease knowing one of my daughters is travelling in a TfL licensed minicab, under such unregulated circumstances?

2. What would I do, as a Dad Defending his Daughters, to make it safer for my children to get home in a minicab?

Hopefully, after the EU Referendum, you can reflect upon this letter, and our concerns.
You have done brilliantly to get to where you are from such humble origins; to become Sadiq Khan - Mayor of London.
But we Londoners expect more from one of our own.

Yours faithfully,
Leonard H. Etheridge.

THE ELEPHANT'S CHILD

Paul Sweeney of 'London Taxis' asks Lenny Etheridge,
WHO ARE DADS DEFENDING DAUGHTERS?

Paul Sweeney

"Dads Defending Daughters came to life through three Licensed London Taxi Driving Grandfathers; Danny Hussey, Sean Pier and Lenny Etheridge, who have six daughters.
Their concern was for the welfare of their daughters travelling in minicabs.

"A unified cab drivers' fight against a government supported conglomerate, brought to light the dangers of an intentionally deregulated system, where a corrupt regulator turned a blind eye to rape and sexual and assault to appease rich investors and greedy politicians.
Thus the sleeping giant of Dads Defending Daughters was woken.
We are parents first - taxi drivers second.

"The epitome of who we are can be summed up in recent events.
We planned an unofficial protest in Parliament Square, for Friday 17th June 2016.
The idea was to have one hundred placard waiving, noisy cab drivers to stand around all four sides of the Square, to get our message seen.
We knew there would be no MPs and very few Lords about on a Friday afternoon. The Square was chosen for its busy location, so passing traffic and pedestrians would have time to read our banners.
We were not interested in educating MPs, who are fully aware of the rapes and sexual assaults being allowed to continue in the name of consumerism.
Ask any MP to acknowledge the elephant in the room, and they will make their excuses and leave.
So no, we are not concerned about self interested politicians with no backbone, who would rather tow the party line, than protect the masses.
Then came the tragic news that Labour MP Jo Cox had died.
So with sincere respect, we called off our protest.
After all, Jo Cox is a daughter too.

"DDD is not just about dads or daughters. It is about sons, husbands, wives, mothers, people without a voice, people unaware of the way they have been sold, put in danger, treated as acceptable collateral damage, so powerful men and women can become even more bloated.
We are not just about boisterous protests. We aim to name and shame politicians, lobbyists, investors, journalists, anyone who deals in misery for profit.

"DDD believes passionately in Union and Org unity.
We despair at the petty squabbling and jostling for position of one group or another.
All the Orgs and Unions have been of assistance to us; the LTDA, UCG, RMT, LCDC and Unite, have all played their part.
We are a cross-org group of about one hundred proactive, 'demo at the drop of a hat' members. With a contingent of around five hundred like-minded affiliated members we can call upon in a crisis.
Our initial inspiration came from groups like the Mayfair Mob, Shoreditch Mob and Flash Demo.

"The Dads Defending Daughters fight is a righteous one.
I truly believe To thine own self be true. Thou canst not then be false to any man."

THE ELEPHANT'S CHILD

by Rudyard Kipling

I keep six honest serving-men

  (They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

  And How and Where and Who.

I send them over land and sea,

  I send them east and west;

But after they have worked for me,

  I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,

  For I am busy then,

As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,

  For they are hungry men.

But different folk have different views;

  I know a person small

She keeps ten million serving-men,

  Who get no rest at all!

She sends em abroad on her own affairs,

  From the second she opens her eyes

One million Hows, Two million Wheres,

  And seven million Whys!

LETTER TO NIGEL

RAPE CAPITAL OF EUROPE

Dear Mr Farage,
I understand why the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan does not want to publicly acknowledge that Minicab/PH/Uber rape and sexual assault statistics are soaring through the roof in London.
He is openly pro EU, and may find it uncomfortable to explain why, on his watch, he is still allowing this to go unchecked.
What powers Mayor Khan actually has, escapes me.
But unlike Boris the Liar, the Mayor has no allegiance to a Tory government. So he should name and shame the culprits; be it the Department for Transportation, Sajid Javid or whoever stands in the way of reforming Transport for London and proper regulation of the Taxi and PH trade. And stop those accommodating a tax avoiding American company, to the detriment of Londoners and the safety of our guests.

We know the Mayor is failing in his duty to inform the public.
But that duty is also yours and mine.
So what I cannot understand is why you, a Brexit campaigner, who cites the Cologne disgrace, at the drop of any hat, refuses to mention the rape capital of Europe; our very own London.
Do you condone the authorities' silence and disinformation?
Is this not the attitude of the BBC and the authorities of Rochdale?
This is not only happening in London. It is happening all over this God forsaken country?

Are you going to acknowledge that London has become the most dangerous capital city in Europe for lone females, due to a Prime Minister who favours finding employment for the unemployable over the safety of the very public his Government are supposed to serve?
I believe it is time you gave Cologne a rest, and mentioned the rotten state of London.

Kind regards,
Leonard Howard Etheridge.