More taxi drivers being accused of sex assault

The number of taxi or private-hire drivers accused of sexual assaults has risen by 20 per cent in three years.

The figures, released by 23 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales under freedom of information laws, rose from 282 in 2014-15 to 337 in 2016-17. A number of the incidents, which related to minicabs, Ubers and black cabs, involved a child victim under 16. Most reports of assaults were in London, where numbers rose from 142 to 156 in three years.

Uber was stripped of its licence in London, partly due to concerns about reports of sexual assaults to police.