(Bloomberg) -- A London Uber driver has been convicted of sexually assaulting a female passenger last year.
Temur Shah picked up a 27-year-old woman in “an extremely vulnerable condition” in London's West End in the early hours of Jan. 15, 2018, the Metropolitan police said. He then stopped during the journey and sexually assaulted her before dropping her at home.
The 45-year-old Shah has been released on bail and is awaiting sentencing. He has also had his taxi license revoked.
The news comes as Uber Technologies Inc. reaches a critical juncture in London. The company was granted a two-month license last month by Transport for London, the regulator, which said it had improved its culture and governance. It will have to apply for a new one in November.
The company's license was suspended over safety concerns in 2017. It was then given a temporary operating license on appeal, with Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi apologizing for the “mistakes we've made” in an open letter to the regulator.
Mandy McGregor, head of Transport Policing and Community Safety at Transport for London, said she expected “the highest standards” from London taxi drivers and described Shah's actions as “disgusting.” Uber said that it has a “zero tolerance policy on any such behavior” and that Shah had permanently lost access to its app.
In the U.S., Uber faced a class action lawsuit from victims of sexual assault by its drivers that accused it of putting thousands of women at risk. The company settled for an undisclosed amount before it listed shares in May.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eddie Spence in London at espence11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Molly Schuetz
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