A CABBIE caught ‘pirating’ in Glasgow city centre has been slammed by licensing chiefs.

Inderbir Mahal let a couple enter his Network Private Hire car on Renfrew Street despite knowing they had not booked a pick-up.

It came just months after he was given a restricted one-year permit following a drink-drive charge.

He claimed he didn’t give them permission to get in but he was too scared to ask the intoxicated man and woman to leave as he feared he’d be punched.

Mr Mahal was watched by enforcement officers, who stopped in with the pair still in the vehicle.

Speaking to the licensing committee, Mr Mahal said: “It was my own fault that I let them get in my car.

“When I went to Renfrew Street the lights turned red and I had to stop.

“The woman asked me which company I worked for and I told her it was Network.

“I told her I already had a pick-up but she came into the car and then the man, who was drunk, came into the car as well.

“I drove around the corner and parked.

“But I didn’t want to tell the man to get out because he was drunk and I was scared that he might punch me.”

Licensing committee members were told that the last job registered to Mr Mahal was at 2.07am but he claimed he was going to pick that fare up when he was approached by the couple around 30 minutes later.

He insisted that a fault within the Network Private Hire system had caused the job to appear as if it had already been completed.

Enforcement officers confirmed there had been a problem with the system but said that job had been completed as far as they were aware.

But Mr Mahal said that if he had taken 30 minutes to pick up a customer, his bosses would have been asking where he was.

He claimed that he was on Renfrew Street when the job was allocated to him and he had stopped to check where he was going on his satnav. That was when the pair got in the car.

Mr Mahal continued: “I wasn’t fully aware that I am not allowed to have people in my car.

“I didn’t get any money from them and I didn’t intend on taking them anywhere.

“My only fault was having my car doors unlocked.”

Licensing Committee chairman Alex Wilson blasted the cabbie after Mr Mahal admitted he had previously been hauled in front of councillors because he was drink-driving.

Mr Wilson said: “We gave you a licence for a restricted period of a year and yet again you’re up in front of us.

“The problem is you let people into your cab when they weren’t part of your booked job.

“If you had an accident, whether you were stationary or not, you would have been liable for these people.

“You have no insurance for any unbooked jobs. You were basically unlicensed.”

Councillor Robert Connolly added: “I don’t know anyone who would leave their car doors unlocked, never mind private hire car doors when they’re moving.

“I’m worried about public safety.”

Despite the concerns, Mr Mahal was given an official warning and allowed to keep his private hire licence.