Glasgow man who sent ‘threatening’ messages refused private hire licence

A man who made “racist comments” in “nuisance” phone calls and sent “threatening” Facebook messages has been blocked from driving private hires.

Ahmad Faheem Yadegari asked Glasgow City Council for a licence to operate in the city, but Police Scotland objected to his application.

An officer told Glasgow’s licensing committee that the police service believed the applicant is “not a fit and proper person to be granted” a licence.

Councillors heard how Mr Yadegari had been convicted in 2015 after he sent emails, phone calls and Facebook messages of “a threatening and abusive nature” causing “severe alarm”.

In 2018, he was ordered to carry out unpaid work after an incident where he became “abusive” — “shouting and screaming at a traffic warden who was issuing him with a parking ticket”.

He was later fined £300 after he made “nuisance phone calls and uttered offensive, racist comments which were grossly obscene, indecent and menacing”.

The committee decided to refuse Mr Yadegari’s application.

Responding to the objection, the applicant told the committee that the incident involved an ex-girlfriend, who had “a blocking option” on her phone.

“If you don’t want to speak to someone you can block it,” he said.

Councillor Alex Wilson, SNP, who chairs the licensing committee, said: “What you just said there, you put the onus on the person who has the phone to put a block on that.”

In the incident with the traffic warden, Mr Yadegari admitted he made a “mistake”, but he claimed the warden would only talk to his then girlfriend, who was white, instead of him.

“I was the driver, I got a licence, I pay insurance, she is only a passenger,” he added.

Asked about the “nuisance” phone calls, the applicant said that had involved an “ex-girlfriend”. Cllr Wilson said: “I’m not surprised you’ve got so many ex-girlfriends.”

Mr Yadegari said: “Nobody is perfect, I done a mistake.

“Some people like one woman, some people like 20 women. Everybody is different.”

Councillor Wilson said the problem was “after everyone of these relationships”, the applicant seemed to have an incident.

He responded: “Now I am married, I say I have done mistake, but the mistake is not 100% from me, some mistake on the other side as well.

“I accept, I apologise for what I have done, that was the past.”

The applicant, a parcel delivery driver, also said he was applying for a licence as he wanted “to keep another job on the side”. “At the moment, I am going to keep it for the future.”

Councillor Wilson said licences have to be used within three months.

Councillor Thomas Kerr, Conservative, said: “It seemed to be it was everyone else’s fault that something had happened, rather than you taking responsibility.

“We have a shortage of drivers in this city, we have loads of people who need to be transported around.

“If we were to grant you a licence today so you could put it in a drawer, that’s a licence that’s not freed up for someone else who might want to do that job. This isn’t a part time job.”

The applicant said he wanted to find out whether he could get a “better income” from working as a private hire driver.