Addison Lee loses Government contract

The London minicab firm Addison Lee, whose boss John Griffin has caused a storm in recent weeks over comments made about cycling and for instructing his drivers to illegally use the capital's bus lanes, is set to lose it's contract with the Government.

Last night Whitehall revealed that it's deal with the company to ferry ministers and civil servants will not be renewed after it expires next month.

The decision could cost the firm tens of thousands of pounds: the Department for Education alone spent over £35,000 on the minicabs between August 2011 and January 2012.

Earlier in April, the company's boss John Griffin controversially told his fleet of 3,500 drivers to illegally use London's bus lanes which, in many places, also serve as cycle lanes.

Campaigners criticised this call, saying it would endanger the lives of cyclists and increase congestion.

Griffin further angered cyclists with an editorial in the company newsletter, AddLib, claiming that injuries to cyclists were inevitable and calling on them to 'get trained and pay up.'

The Government insisted that the decision to terminate the contract was part of a wider review of how it uses private hire vehicles, and had nothing to do with Griffin's instruction to his drivers.

Yet the move came just hours after a High Court judge yesterday responsed to an application by Transport for London (TfL), ordering Griffin not to repeat his letter to his drivers and to remove the advice from the company website.

In an ironic twist to the tale, Griffin was due to appear on BBC Radio 4 this morning to defend himself yet was unable to make it to the recording studios because...he was stuck in traffic.

Related links

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Addison Lee boss responds to criticism