• Western Isles haulier Alexander D McKinnon has had his
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licence revoked by Scottish Deputy Licencing Authority Alex Brand after admitting that he had lied to a vehicle examiner.
Vehicle examiner Andrew Gray said he was told McKinnon was unable to keep an appointment to see him because he was ill in hospital. He asked to see the two vehicles operated and, after some hesitation, was told that it would he alright. On arrival he found two vehicles ready for inspection. One had obviously not been used for some time while the other had its rear wheels and its suspension removed. McKinnon's son told him that it had not been in use, but from its appearance he felt it had been used recently.
After being told by a local policeman McKinnon had been seen that morning, he and the policeman later confronted him. McKinnon said that he had recovered quickly and had not needed to go to hospital. He said the second vehicle had been off the road for months.
That was refuted by the police officer who said that it had been in use the previous week.
Eventually, said Gray. McKinnon put his hands up and said that he had been telling lies. He had got some boys the previous night to make the vehicle look as if it had been off the road for some time. He admitted it had been working until the previous day and that it bad had a potentially dangerous defect since October.
Revoking the licence, Brand said that if it had only been a matter of not keeping proper records and carrying out regular maintenance checks he might have given McKinnon a chance to see if a proposed new arrangement with the Freight Transport Association would work — but in the light of the evidence regarding IvIcKinnon's good repute, he felt he had to revoke the licence.