SOME of the statements within the article titled “For Safety’s Sake, don’t relax taxi driver rules” (Daily Echo, July 28) are extremely misleading and it is disappointing that yet again taxi drivers come under the microscope for being a risk to customers.

This present Government’s Deregulation Bill which was passed through the House of Commons, now on its way to The House of Lords has three proposed reforms connected with our industry.

The contentious one being Clause 10, which would allow persons without a Private Hire Vehicle Licence (PHV) what is commonly called a mini-cab in London, to drive one when the vehicle is off-duty, threatening to place passengers, in particular women, at an increased risk.

Tara Doel from Southampton Rape Crisis stated in the article: “It will no longer be possible to know whether a person driving a cab is licensed to do so.”

She then goes onto say: “Making people reluctant to use cabs as a trusted form of transport.”

We pride ourselves in Southampton that under the 2000 Transport Package we have a corporate colour of white for all 283 taxis, whilst the private hire trade colour scheme is any colour but white.

The Unite Union Southampton taxi branch chairman, Perry McMillan, is pictured in this article with five Southampton white taxis in the background.

He knows full well that there has been widespread criticism of Clause 10, which is all to do with private hire vehicles and not taxis.

IAN HALL, Chairman of Southampton Hackney Association.