Khalid Walid v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Mr Khalid Walid, had been an approved driving instructor (ADI) since 2008, at one time under a different name. On 29 July 2025 he drove a hired vehicle without insurance. He was convicted of the offence and his licence was endorsed with 6 penalty points. The Tribunal records the conviction date as 8 December 2025, but the Registrar's Response gives 8 October 2025. The appellant was given two opportunities to make representations and made none. By a decision dated 14 January 2026, the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors removed his name from the Register under section 128(2)(e) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 on the basis that he had ceased to be a fit and proper person. The appellant appealed on 21 January 2026. He accepted responsibility but said the lapse was brief, technical and unintended: he believed temporary insurance was in place while he renewed his policy, but a payment problem meant it had not activated. He also relied on his early guilty plea, his long unblemished career, a Grade A Standards Check and his delivery of speed awareness courses. He argued that removal was disproportionate given the effect on his livelihood and his family of five daughters. The Registrar replied that the appellant's name had been removed once before, after a conviction for failing to identify a driver. That removal was overturned on appeal to the Tribunal on 26 October 2017, and the appellant was warned about his future conduct. The appellant told the clerk on the morning of the hearing that he would not attend.