Published: Wednesday, 23rd June, 2010 4:41pm

Taxi row rumbles on

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LICENSE: Compass Cars

POLICE chiefs have again failed in their bid to shut down a Barrhead taxi firm.

The row between Strathclyde Police and East Renfrewshire Council's licensing board over Compass Cars continued at a meeting last week.

The licensing board has not been convinced by the force's top brass that the operating director of Compass Cars, Derek Mullaney, is not a fit and proper person to run the business.

At last week's meeting the police again provided documentation which alleges the taxi company has criminal links and therefore should not be allowed to operate in the town, but these suggestions have once more been rejected by licence board members.

The board had no objection to granting Compass the licence to operate a booking office in Barrhead.

This case was brought back to the licensing board on Thursday because of a technicality in the appeal process when the original decision should have been contested within 21 days.

Council bosses should have asked the police their reason for not appealing the decision but failed to do so.

The police took this argument to the Sheriff Courts where it was agreed they had the right to appeal.

Board members accepted the sheriff's decision but in the end it did not affect Compass being granted their booking office licence.

At April's meeting of the council's licensing committee, the police also failed to prove their claims in an attempt to revoke Compass' 19 taxi radio licences.

This decision is still being appealed by police bosses.

And a council spokesman yesterday confirmed that case is still currently lodged at the Sheriff Courts where a final decision will be made in the coming months.

He added: "The licensing committee decided to grant the [booking office] licence. Some of the information presented included intelligence about individuals.

"It is not our intention to publicly broadcast that information about people and the meeting, like many others across the country, was held in private.

"Any information presented by the police is and will continue to be examined in detail and always helps to inform the decision of our councillors."

Strathclyde Police were unable to comment on the issue while the case lies with the Sheriff Court.