COUNCIL bosses are to review all executive hire licenses after a £40k Mercedes used for 'elite' clients was spotted "picking up Mrs Miggins" at a supermarket.

Oldham’s chief licensing officer said drivers handed special dispensation for vehicles used specifically for executive hire work were abusing the system by using them for more routine jobs.

Cabbies who obtain special licenses from the town hall for executive hire vehicles are exempt from having to display the normal private hire identification, such as door signs or plates.

However, to keep their licence, they will now have to adhere to more stringent criteria, including a smart dress code which stipulates wearing a shirt and tie.

Executive licences are used for drivers who ferry so-called ‘elite’ clients, such as celebrities, or company executives on specific pre-booked jobs.

The council’s trading standards and licensing manager, John Garforth told councillors: “What has happened, people come to the panel or come to me and say, ‘I have spent £40k on a Mercedes, I want to use it for executive hire.

“And then you go to Morrisons, like I did, driving past, and I see that vehicle picking up Mrs Miggins with her bags of shopping.

“And I look and I think, that’s the vehicle I gave an exemption to, because he said he was doing ICI contracts or taking Bon Jovi to the arena, or Kylie Minogue, whoever it might be.

“The likes of those people abuse this system. We’ve ended up with executive hire vehicles that have got exemptions being used for disparate purposes, because they haven’t got the work to cover that being used for private hire work.

“And that’s what causes me concern, because a little disc in a window isn’t sufficient for those wider journeys.”

The council and other authorities in Greater Manchester are looking to implement a series of measures that would prevent executive drivers using their vehicles for private hire work without the official identification.

These would include no payments being made in cash on the journey, the operator presenting a business plan and a "particular type" of vehicle being driven.

“No disrespect but you won’t be driving a Skoda,” Mr Garforth said at a licensing meeting this week. “You would expect a high end BMW, Mercedes, Lexus.

“And also the dress code of the driver, you wouldn’t just be sat there in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. You’d be there dressed smart in a shirt and tie and looking the part.”

He asked members of the licensing committee to adopt the policy, and also to allow officers to revisit and reassess the existing executive licenses.

“Basically start with a clean sheet, start afresh under a clearer policy,” Mr Garforth said.

“I don’t think we have got many exclusive private hire vehicles that hand on heart, they could say are used exclusively for executive hire work.

“We do need some tightening up of it.”

The new policy would allow drivers to also opt into private hire work, but only if they put the correct livery back on the vehicle.

Chadderton Councillor Graham Shuttleworth suggested that the wording be changed to stipulate a smart dress code as part of the conditions of the exemption.

“Instead of saying ‘shirt and ties expected to be worn’, can we be more positive and say ‘must be’,” he said.

This was accepted by the other members, who voted in favour of the new policy.