Four Highland Council licensing committee members have resigned following widespread public anger over a decision to allow a convicted rapist to retain his taxi operator’s licence.
David Brown, 50, from Croy near Inverness, was jailed for six years and nine months in May 2026 after being found guilty of raping an 18-year-old passenger in December 2023. Brown had picked the teenager up after a night out in Inverness; rather than taking her home, he drove to a layby between Strathpeffer and Dingwall and assaulted her before leaving her in sub-zero temperatures. His taxi driver’s licence was suspended in January 2024 once details of the case emerged.
Last month, Highland Council’s licensing committee voted in private on whether to allow Brown’s operator’s licence to continue, following a request from his family that it be kept active so his wife could maintain an income. The vote split entirely along gender lines: the committee’s six male members voted to let the licence stand, despite Police Scotland having objected, while all four female members voted against.
The backlash was swift. Committee chairman Sean Kennedy, who said he was “haunted” by how the decision might have affected the victim, was the first to step down, followed by councillors Duncan Macpherson, John Grafton and Willie MacKay, the latter resigning from the council altogether. A fifth male committee member, SNP councillor Chris Birt, has since been suspended from his party group after declining to immediately follow suit. The two remaining male members who haven’t resigned are Birt and Conservative group leader Ruraidh Stewart.
The full council is due to review the committee’s decision at a meeting in September. Police Scotland’s objection to the licence continuing has added further scrutiny to how the case was handled.
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