Posted on the 27th July 2026 in PHTM News

LONDON CABBIES DROP POPPY CABS NAME AFTER ROYAL BRITISH LEGION LEGAL DISPUTE

London taxi drivers have been forced to remove the word "poppy" from their vehicles following a dispute with the Royal British Legion (RBL) over intellectual property rights.

For nearly two decades, an armada of hackney carriages has operated under the informal banner of "Poppy Cabs," providing free transport for war veterans to the annual national Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph.

However, the annual cavalcade has now renamed itself "Cabs-for-Veterans" after Britain’s largest Armed Forces charity instructed trademark lawyers to formalise the initiative's use of the word "poppy" and associated logos through a restrictive licensing agreement.

The move has sparked widespread outrage among hundreds of volunteer black cab drivers who give up their time and vehicles for free each November.

Volunteer and London cabbie Lisa Nancarrow, 58, expressed the drivers' collective frustration, saying: "London taxi drivers don't like being told what to do.

"This is petty, bureaucratic, unnecessary, and of all the battles to pick, entirely pointless. We're completely and utterly disgusted. What next? You can't go into a bakery and ask for a poppy-seed roll. It's just madness."

Founder Mike Hughes (pictured), 78, backed unanimously by hundreds of participating cabbies, refused to sign the restrictive licensing agreement and subsequently stripped the original branding from his vehicle.

Emphasising that the priority remains helping veterans, Hughes stated: "Despite everything, the overarching concern is the free Remembrance Day taxi service.

"We get on very well with the staff on the ground - it's just the legal department who seem to be intent on protecting the intellectual rights of the RBL without considering that maybe sometimes it's better to let sleeping dogs lie."

London's taxi drivers will continue to do what they have always done - quietly, generously and with immense pride.


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