Lewis Atkins v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Lewis Atkins, was an approved driving instructor whose name the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors removed from the Register by a decision of 23 February 2026, on the ground that he was no longer a fit and proper person to be registered. The removal followed the appellant's accrual of six penalty points for using a mobile telephone while driving a motor vehicle. According to his Notice of Appeal dated 22 March 2026, and his evidence to the Tribunal, he had dropped a pupil at home and, while driving on to his next lesson, heard a vibrating noise; he found a phone in the footwell belonging to a former pupil, and answered it at the fourth attempt while stopped at traffic lights because the screen displayed "Nan" and he feared an emergency. The call lasted about a minute. A passer-by filmed him and the video circulated on TikTok, which he described as bullying. He relied on an unblemished record of some 24 or 25 years, Trustpilot reviews attesting to his standing, and the financial consequences of removal, including outstanding franchise payments to BSM of around £5,500 and support for his son's Masters degree. The Registrar maintained that the offending was serious and that removal was necessary to preserve confidence in the Register. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal.