Uber is being sued for hundreds of millions of pounds in a lawsuit representing London’s black cab drivers.

The lawsuit, filed in the High Court on Thursday, claims that Uber improperly obtained a licence from Transport for London in 2012 and as a result took business away from traditional cab drivers unlawfully.

Each of London’s 10,500 black cab drivers could be eligible for compensation of up to £25,000 with the total value of the claim estimated at a minimum of £250 million.

The firm representing the cabbies is RGL Management, which earlier this year successfully secured more than $270 million for cab drivers in Australia, said that all London black cab drivers who worked full- or part-time between June 2012 and mid-March 2018 can join the action.

Michael Green, the director of RGL Management, said: "There are still thousands of cabbies eligible to join who have not yet done so. A cut-off date is fast approaching."

A spokesperson for Uber commented: "These old claims are completely unfounded. Uber operates lawfully in London, is fully licensed by TfL, and is proud to serve millions of passengers and drivers across the capital."

Uber previously was sued by black cab drivers in 2018 on similar grounds, with the case alleging that it misled TFL over how its operating system works, but this was abandoned during the pandemic. TFL had previously refused to renew its licence in 2017 because it did not consider the company responsible enough regarding public safety, but the company successfully appealed this decision.

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