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Transport for London has stripped Uber of its licence to operate in London.

TfL ruled the ride-hailing app does not meet the "fit and proper" requirements for private hire operators and so is not extending its licence beyond midnight tonight.

A spokesman for the transport body said "several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk" were identified.

Uber said the decision was "extraordinary and wrong" and vowed to appeal. It will be allowed to continue operating in the months before a court hearing.

TfL said it was compelled to act after uncovering a “pattern of failures by the company, including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk”.

Inspectors discovered that at least 14,000 journeys were undertaken by drivers using another Uber account by exploiting “vulnerabilities” in the company’s app.

At least 43 drivers were found to have uploaded their photos onto another Uber driver account, meaning that all the journeys were uninsured.

TfL also found that at least six drivers who had been suspended or dismissed by Uber had been able to create new accounts to continue working. TfL said this “compromised passenger safety and security”.

The loophole that enabled drivers to swap photos has been closed but TfL is said to be concerned the app is not watertight and was “comparatively easily manipulated”.

The scale of Uber’s operation and number of updates to the app have created concerns about future breaches of security.

Uber has 21 days to lodge an appeal.

It is the latest development in a two-year battle between TfL and the company over its operation in the capital.

TfL had refused to give Uber a five year licence in September 2017 due to safety and security concerns. But in June 2018 a judge granted it a 15-month licence.

In September this year TfL gave the company a two-month extension to its licence.

Helen Chapman, director of licensing, regulation and charging at TfL, said: “While we recognise Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured.

“It is clearly concerning that these issues arose, but it is also concerning that we cannot be confident that similar issues won’t happen again in future."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “At this stage TfL can’t be confident that Uber has the robust processes in place to prevent another serious safety breach in the future.

"I know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users but their safety is the paramount concern.”

Of the 43 drivers found to have swapped photos, 41 were licensed Uber drivers. But TfL said the act of switching identities made the drivers “not fit and proper persons”.

Uber said today it had audited every driver in London in the past two months and would shortly introduce a “facial matching” system.

Responding to TfL's decision Jamie Heywood, Regional General Manager for Northern & Eastern Europe, said: “TfL’s decision not to renew Uber’s licence in London is extraordinary and wrong, and we will appeal.

“On behalf of the 3.5 million riders and 45,000 licensed drivers who depend on Uber in London, we will continue to operate as normal and will do everything we can to work with TfL to resolve this situation.”

Listen to today's episode of The Leader: