`PORN IN TAXI' CABBIE FURORE

A TAXI driver deemed unfit to hold a licence after he was caught showing hard-core pornography to passengers has been granted permission to work in Pendle.

Married father-of-two Shaukat Ali Afsar, 43, received a private hire licence to operate in the borough after been banned from working in Leeds.

Today Coun Kathleen Shore, chairman of Pendle Council's taxi licensing committee, responsible for granting permits,

said she did not know why Mr Afsar had been given a licence.

And national women's group, Rape Crisis, slammed the decision saying he should not be allowed to drive cabs.

Mr Afsar lost his appeal to get his licence back following a civil hearing at Leeds Magistrates' Court. The bench ruled he was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence - a criteria applicants must demonstrate to be granted a licence in Pendle.

In November 2003 the cabbie illegally picked up two men outside the city's train station and drove them to a nightclub.

Mr Afsar was unaware his fare were enforcement officers carrying out a sting operation between Leeds City Council and Railtrack to clampdown on private hire drivers plying for trade at the station.

During the journey he asked the men if they were on a boys' night out before playing an explicit DVD which showed a man and a woman performing unnatural sex acts.

Mr Afsar, of Bradford, was arrested in November 2003, fined and had his licence revoked.

During the subsequent trial he admitted touting for business, driving with invalid insurance, displaying indecent material and driving while being distracted. Private hire drivers can only pick up pre-booked passengers otherwise their insurance is void.

In November 2004 Mr Afsar re-applied for his licence but the application was rejected because officials said he was not a fit and proper person.

He launched an appeal in a civil case which was thrown out by magistrate last week.

Today Coun Shore said Mr Afsar was granted a licence on July 27 last year - after his licence had been revoked in Leeds.

But she said she did not know why Mr Afsar had received a permit.

She said: "Personally I think he should be suspended. To me if the magistrates say he is an unfit person to drive we should go with the magistrates.

"He picks up young lasses in his taxi. Drivers are in a position trust."

"Showing pornography is a serious matter. Taxi drivers have to behave perfectly."

A spokeswoman for Rape Crisis, a national organisation campaigning for an end to violence against women, said Mr Afsar's antics raised issues about passenger safety especially for women who travel alone in cabs at night.

She said: "The behaviour of this person seems to raise grave concerns about the safety of passengers.

"If he is not suitable to drive for one council how can another say he is?

"There is no way he should have been given a licence."

Mohammed Akram, chairman of Pendle Taxi Association, said drivers were surprised when a licence was granted.

He added: "The council have set a precedent for this and they should have done a criminal records check."

Pendle Council records say Mr Afsar works for City Central, Netherfield Road, Nelson, but the company today denied he worked for them.

A spokesman for Pendle Council said the decision to grant licences was made by councillors on the taxi licensing committee, not the authority itself.

He said: "I can confirm that Shaukat Ali Afsar has a full licence. He previously had a provisional licence which was reviewed after three months."