An operator that had its licence revoked after the transport manager was removed without a replacement being specified was “the author of its own misfortune”, according to an appeal tribunal.
Loughborough-based RW Gent appealed against its licence revocation, with director Dale Stafford claiming his data had been hacked from Twitter and led to transport manager Matthew Noon being removed from the licence.
Noon was removed from the position via the vehicle operator licensing system using Stafford’s ID in March 2023, before an application was made two days later to reinstate him.
The office of the traffic commissioner then requested further information about Noon’s ability to fulfil the duties, but the company later claimed these requests were not received and in the meantime it had its licence revoked.
In its decision to uphold the revocation, the appeal tribunal said Stafford and company secretary Darren Bowers were not convincing witnesses: “There were inconsistencies and illogicalities in what we were being told which made it difficult to accept substantial parts of their evidence,” it said.
The tribunal added that both men had an “inconsequential approach” to administration duties and “something of a tendency to panic”.
It also questioned how data stolen from Twitter could have caused licensing problems: “We do not accept that anyone other than Mr Stafford removed Mr Noon and subsequently applied to reinstate him,” it said.
