Uber has lost its battle to secure a new licence from TfL to operate in London. The company is not “fit and proper” to run a service in the capital, the regulator said, following the expiry of its 15-month provisional licence.

TfL had raised further concerns about Uber’s driver identification processes, despite Uber making what it said were improvements to its safety rules.

Uber’s licence was initially scrapped in 2017, but TfL gave it a 15-month provisional right to run in London.

This was followed by a two-month extension granted in September.

A TfL spokesperson said that “safety is our top priority.” She continued: “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.”

Uber will now have 21 days to appeal the decision, and will be allowed to operate while it does so.