New checks on 'sex risk' cabbies

A legal loophole which risked allowing suspected sex offenders to become London cab drivers is to be closed, ministers announced today.

An overhaul of the criminal records checking system by the Home Office had prompted a warning from Mayor Boris Johnson that dangerous people could be wrongly cleared to receive licences.

Under the law change, all licensing authorities, including Transport for London, will be able to seek "enhanced" checks for all drivers. Such checks, using police intelligence reports and protection records, mean people who have not been convicted but who are thought to pose a risk to the public can be blocked from jobs where they would be able to carry out attacks.

Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone said the closure of the loophole in a parliamentary amendment aimed to balance civil liberties with safeguarding passengers.

"Taxi drivers give a valuable service transporting children to school and lone women home, so it is only right the public should be confident proper checks are carried out," she said.