Four Councillors Resign After Vote to Allow Rapist Taxi Driver to Retain Operator’s Licence
Four councillors quit after vote for rapist – David Brown, a 50-year-old taxi operator, was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison in May 2024 for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old female passenger in December 2023. The incident, which occurred during a night out in Inverness, left the victim stranded in sub-zero temperatures in Dingwall after being raped and dumped by Brown. Despite his conviction, the Highland Council’s licensing committee voted to keep his operator’s licence, allowing him to continue running his taxi business. This decision sparked backlash, leading to the resignation of four councillors from the committee.
The vote followed a request from Brown’s family to review his operator’s licence. At the time, six male councillors supported the continuation of the licence, while four female councillors opposed it. The committee met in private to discuss the case, aiming to protect the identities of the victims. However, the decision was criticized as sending a “harmful message” regarding women’s safety, prompting several resignations.
Resignations and Statements
Sean Kennedy, the committee’s chairman, along with John Grafton, Duncan Macpherson, and Willie MacKay, stepped down after the vote. MacKay, an independent councillor, also resigned from his role as a council member. Grafton, a member of the Scottish Liberal Democrat group, was suspended from the committee. Kennedy was an independent, while Chris Birt, an SNP councillor, was urged by party leader Raymond Bremner to resign from the committee.
“Speaking as a father of a daughter and a brother to three sisters, and as a grandfather, it troubles me that the decision I took in the committee has created a feeling of concern or insecurity about women’s safety in the Highlands. I would never knowingly play any part in compromising the safety of women and girls and I sincerely do not believe that I have done so in this case. My concern that the safety of women and girls even appears to have been compromised is too much for my conscience to bear, and this is why I am resigning.” — Duncan Macpherson
Bremner emphasized the importance of prioritizing the victim’s experience, stating: “In all that has been happening over the past few days, I hope that everyone is first and foremost considering the impact this is having on the victim and, more widely, other women in Highland.” Grafton later reflected on the decision, acknowledging that with more information, an alternative choice might have been made. He noted that officials assured him Brown posed no immediate threat and that the licence would expire before his release from prison.
Policing bodies, including Police Scotland, had objected to the licence continuing. The council licensing committee had the option to take no action, suspend, or revoke the licence. Critics argued the decision undermined efforts to protect women, while supporters defended it as a necessary step based on available evidence at the time.
