Rapist Inverness taxi driver surrenders licence day before council reconsiders controversial vote

A convicted rapist has surrendered his taxi operator’s licence after Highland councillors controversially allowed him to keep it.

David Brown, from Croy, near Inverness, raped a teenager in a layby in December 2023 after picking her up after a night out in Inverness.

He then dumped the 18-year-old in Dingwall on a freezing cold night.

The 50-year-old was found guilty by a jury after a three-day trial in Edinburgh in April. He was later jailed for six years and nine months.

Brown had his taxi driver’s licence suspended in January 2024 after details of his crime emerged.

In June, a Highland Council committee voted in private to allow a taxi operator’s licence in his name to continue.

Police had objected to allowing the licence to continue, but Brown’s wife had argued at the meeting that she needed the licence to keep earning a living.

Six male councillors – chairman Sean Kennedy, Willie Mackay, Chris Birt, Duncan Macpherson, John Grafton and Conservative group leader Ruraidh Stewart – voted for Brown to keep the licence.

Following public outcry over the decision, four of the men resigned from the committee, and a fifth was suspended by his party.

A full council meeting to reconsider the decision was due to take place on Tuesday; however, Brown surrendered his two taxi operator’s licences on Monday.

Despite there now being no legal basis to consider the decision at the meeting, it is still due to proceed after an “urgent motion” acknowledging that the emergency meeting “was justified”.

Convener of The Highland Council, Councillor Bill Lobban, said that he found it “impossible to understand” the initial decision made by the committee regarding the licences.

He added: “Today, David Brown surrendered his taxi operator licences, meaning there is no longer a legal basis to proceed with tomorrow’s Special Meeting of The Highland Council.

“Had the item gone ahead, I am confident the full membership of the Council would have made the right decision based on the information before them.”