News

McKinney and Son has lost its appeal to have two impounded vehicles returned.  The vehicles were seized in November, a month after director Thomas McKinney had been disqualified and had his licence revoked for the production of false bank statements and a false CPC.

McKinney sought their return on the grounds that they were rented for two days to Gerad McDonagh.

Former South East & Metropolitan traffic commissioner Christopher Heaps heard the drivers of the vehicles had said they  were employed by McDonagh, but one said he received his instructions from McKinney, and the other said he had never met McDonagh.

Heaps refused to return the vehicles on the grounds that they were either being operated by the company or Thomas McKinney not McDonagh.

The Transport Tribunal ruled that having found it was McKinney or the company who had operated the vehicles, Heaps only had to be satisfied about whether there was knowledge that a licence was required and that vehicles were being operated without one.

The Tribunal concluded this was a bad case of the illegal operation of vehicles and the facts overwhelmingly pointed to a sham agreement to enable the company to continue operating following its licence revocation.