Unfair?
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W. STONIER and Sons, the Berresford Motors subsidiary, has asked the Transport Secretary for its application to renew its psv operator's licence (which was refused by the West Midlands Traffic Commissioners (CM September 18)) to be reheard by different Commissioners.
The company has appealed for a rehearing because part of the transcript of the proceedings before the Commissioners was lost on a faulty tape recorder.
Asking for different Commissioners to hear the case at the appeal hearing, John Backhouse for Stoniers said it was not saying that Commissioners' chairman Arthur Crabtree had been biased or prejudiced but many questions framed by him during the proceedings gave that impression.
The company is asking that the proceedings be heard from the beginning again with the Commissioners having an open mind. It wants different Commissioners so that they could not bring previous knowledge of the aborted hearing to bear.
Mr Backhouse said that it was clear that the Commissioners had approached the case on the basis of revocation proceedings rather than it being a renewal application. The chairman appeared to have already decided what the outcome would be at the start and he had maintained that view throughout, taking no regard of the evidence.
The chairman had also appeared to believe that the evidence of the vehicle examiner was incontrovertible and that begged the whole question of holding a public inquiry. He gave the impression of believing what the vehicle examiner wrote down was fact and while the company might challenge it, it would not alter his belief.
The inspector adjourned the hearing of the appeal to report to the Transport Secretary.