Conservatives in Bracknell are challenging the council after convicted rapist Diwan Khan was granted a taxi licence without a DBS check. Khan, convicted earlier this year, later served as the borough mayor's escort under Labour.
Labour leader and women's safety campaigner Cllr Helen Purnell launched an investigation and blamed the previous Conservative administration, citing 'systemic failings'. She said: "My investigation uncovered a shocking trail of negligence by the Conservatives."
At a full council meeting Cllr Gareth Barnard will challenge the Labour administration over the outsourced Public Protection Partnership (PPP) that manages licensing, asking whether Labour supported the PPP's creation and its December 2025 extension after Khan had been charged.
He will also demand to know what "due diligence" was done and what evidence exists of "proactive political oversight" of licensing between May 2023 and December 2025.
Purnell said outsourcing licensing to West Berkshire Council, national regulatory changes under the Conservative government and COVID-19 disruption all reduced local oversight. "Frankly no explanation is good enough for such a failing," she said, adding she was "stunned" that basic safeguarding measures such as DBS checks had "fallen apart under Tory leadership".
Cllr Purnell said the council is now taking steps to strengthen safeguards, including a full audit of all taxi licences issued by Bracknell Forest, exploring bringing the service back in-house, and reviewing rules for drivers operating in the borough. The row is set to prompt further political debate over accountability and the future of licensing arrangements in Bracknell Forest.
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
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