The drivers all held hackney carriage licences issued by Manchester City Council, which meant they were not legally allowed to pick up unbooked passengers within the Trafford area.

The review is part of a regular process required to have a new fare structure officially in place by October 22.

Peter King groomed his victims in the 1990s and 2000s when they were as young as nine and 11, using day trips, clothes, and food to lure them to his Highgate flat.

The operator first came to the attention of authorities after advertising fares on social media.

Diwan Khan, who was jailed for 12 years in April for raping an unconscious 15-year-old girl in his car, held a taxi driver licence issued by Bracknell Forest Council between January 2021 and January 2024.

Sam Hodkinson, 23, was travelling down Blackburn Road in Egerton when the branch suddenly crushed the vehicle, prompting emergency services to temporarily close the road near Higher Dunscar.

The decisions, made during a meeting on June 16, mark a departure from standard licensing policies due to what councillors described as exceptional circumstances beyond the drivers' control.

Damian Watson, 36, was driving a white Mercedes van in Anfield in April this year when he picked up a woman who had mistakenly believed he was the Uber driver she had ordered on her phone.