Mohammad Yasin, the MP for Bedford and Kempston, has written to Mayor Tom Wootton demanding an urgent explanation over persistent delays in issuing and renewing taxi licences.

Under the current policy, vehicles that exceed standard age limits are reviewed individually, with input from licensing officers and a qualified vehicle engineer.

A cabbie received a £300 fine following a fixed penalty notice after CCTV footage showed him driving a Norwich woman to Bowers Avenue to dump rubbish.

Annual spending has steadily increased from £7.4 million in 2021/22 and £7.9 million in 2022/23, to £7.8 million in 2023/24, £9.2 million in 2024/25, and £10.3 million in 2025/26.

The review, which is the first since April 2024, aims to strengthen passenger safety while simplifying requirements for the trade following feedback from drivers and operators.

Emma Richards, of Litherland, sobbed and fell to the floor despite being given an 18-month community order and a six-month alcohol abstinence requirement.

Gregor Thomson was captured on dash-cam footage holding up the cab driver following a late-night pick-up in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, on 5 May.

The situation is made worse by local authority regulations, which have left the maximum fares that hackney carriage taxis can charge unchanged for the last four years.