A man caught driving without insurance and a UK licence has been given permission to be a private hire driver.

Glasgow’s licensing committee approved Samuil Losif Teglas’s application despite an objection from Police Scotland.

They did issue a warning to the driver, who had been disqualified for six months over the incident.

Police Scotland had argued the applicant was “not a fit and proper person to be the holder of a licence” due to his offences.

An officer told the committee that Mr Teglas had been pulled over in August 2020. 

“It was revealed there was no insurance for the vehicle and the applicant only had a Romanian drivers’ licence,” he added. “The vehicle was subsequently seized and uplifted.”

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The applicant was fined £400 over the incident, given six points and disqualified for six months.

He was also fined £200 after police caught him driving while “using a handheld mobile phone” in 2023.

Mr Teglas said he had been driving without insurance due to different rules in the UK compared to his home country. 

He said he had moved his mobile phone into the door of his car, but wasn’t using it, and the police had seen him.

The applicant added he currently works at a car wash but thinks a “taxi driver is a better job, and I like to drive”.

 Jill Pidgeon, Labour, and  Sean Ferguson, SNP, suggested the application was refused, but a motion from  Alex Wilson, SNP, supported by Eunis Jassemi, Labour, was passed by four votes to two.