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.

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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.”

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