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Four members of Highland Council’s licensing committee have stepped down following controversy over their decision to permit a convicted rapist taxi driver to retain his operator’s licence. David Brown, aged 50, was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison in May for the assault of an 18-year-old female passenger in December 2023. Despite this conviction, the committee’s six male councillors voted in favor of allowing Brown to continue holding his operator’s licence after a request from his family, a move opposed by all four female councillors.
The decision sparked significant public criticism, resulting in the resignations of the licensing committee’s chairman Sean Kennedy, as well as councillors John Grafton, Duncan Macpherson, and Willie MacKay. Among these, MacKay resigned not only from the committee but also from his position as a councillor. Grafton faces suspension from the Scottish Liberal Democrat group on Highland Council. Kennedy had been serving as an Independent councillor. It is important to note that while Brown’s taxi driver licence had already been suspended in January 2024 following the revelation of his crimes, the operator’s licence allows him to manage the vehicle as a taxi business.
The committee reviewed Brown’s operator’s licence shortly after his sentencing at the High Court in Stirling. During the trial, it was revealed that Brown had picked up the victim after a night out in Inverness and claimed to be taking her back to her village. However, he deviated from the route, stopped near a farm between Strathpeffer and Dingwall, sexually assaulted her, and subsequently abandoned her in freezing conditions. Brown denied committing rape, claiming the encounter was consensual, but a jury rejected his defense after a three-day trial.
In response to the committee’s decision, organizations such as Rape and Sexual Abuse Service Highland and Rape Crisis Scotland stated that the ruling sent a “harmful message” regarding the safety of women. Police Scotland had also opposed the continuation of Brown’s operator’s licence. According to Grafton and Macpherson, the councillors based their vote on the information provided to them during the private meeting, which was held confidentially to protect victim identities. Macpherson expressed deep personal concern over the decision’s impact on public perceptions of women’s safety, stating, “Speaking as a father of a daughter and a brother to three sisters, and as a grandfather, it troubles me that the decision I took in the committee has created a feeling of concern or insecurity about women’s safety in the Highlands… My concern that the safety of women and girls even appears to have been compromised is too much for my conscience to bear, and this is why I am resigning.”
Reflecting on the decision, Grafton acknowledged that with hindsight and additional information, the committee’s choice might have been different. He said he was reassured by officials that Brown posed no current threat and noted the operator’s licence would expire before Brown’s expected release from prison. Grafton emphasized that their role was not to impose punishment, as “that is the job of the courts.” The council has announced that the matter will be brought before a future meeting of the full council for further review
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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