Controversial private hire taxi firm Addison Lee has today lost its government contracts as a direct result of the company’s boss, John Griffin, advising his drivers to illegally drive in bus lanes. This comes on top of other companies pulling out of contracts with the firm over his remarks on cyclists that appeared to blame road deaths on those who had been killed.

Buying influence?

Hilariously he told the Evening Standard that his well publicised donations to the Conservative Party may have bought him dinner with the PM, but certainly had not bought him any influence.

“I thought the cheque had bounced, and that’s the truth, because I got nothing,” he says. “With all the money I’ve spent there’s not one person who has stepped out of the breach and said, ‘Mr Griffin, we support what you’re doing.’ Shall I tell you why? Because they are frightened to death of the taxi trade.”

This clearly upsets him. “Do you think I would have gone to court to get myself into the bus lanes if I could just pick the phone up and say, ‘David, deal with this little problem for me, will you? I’ve given you a few quid’.”

“Yes, they [politicians] come here. I invite them because I want them to see what is happening. But I don’t feel they are a fraction above me in their influence in London. I am absolutely as influential as they are — and perhaps more.”

Unfair treatment

Griffin clearly feels unfairly treated and complains that “It’s unfortunate [cyclists] perceive me as being some ogre fat cat sitting here with loads of missiles, which I call my cars, that are homed in on them. It’s just not true. I’m not anti-cycling. I’m anti-fat and there are no fat people on bikes.”

However he is in favour of making cyclists pass tests in order to cycle, pay road tax, get insurance and pretty much get out of his way. But he’s not anti-cyclist.

Boycott starts to bite

John Griffin probably thought he was cleverly getting media exposure by writing ill-considered, inflammatory articles and declaring that he wanted his drivers to break the law but as the boycott campaign starts to bite and cost the company lucrative contracts he may be having second thoughts.

Certainly it comes at a time when black cabs and regulated taxi ranks were under threat and this incident may just have saved the pseudo-nationalised part of London’s taxi trade at the eleventh hour. As the advantages of having properly trained and democratically accountable black cab drivers becomes clearer it might be time to rethink TfL’s policies on promoting private hire and deregulation if it brings with it characters like Mr Griffin.