Helia Ibrahimi 'knocked to ground by black cab driver'

A black cab driver locked Channel 4 business correspondent Helia Ebrahimi in his cab during a row over the heating and later ran her over as she tried to film his id plate on her phone, a court heard.

James Wilkinson, 57, allegedly told the Iranian-born broadcaster, 39, the police were already too busy: 'Dealing with the likes of you,' on the same day as the Westminster terror attack.

Wilkinson, Faversham, Kent, has pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Ms Ebrahimi on March 22 and driving dangerously in Roger Street, Holborn.

She told Blackfriars Crown Court it was just after 8pm when she hailed the cab outside her ITN office in Gray's Inn Road to go to her Notting Hill home.

The court was told Ms Ebrahimi wouldn't pay the fare because she was freezing during the journey.
Wilkinson became angry, a jury heard, and locked in her the cab.

The journalist said she became 'scared and frightened' when Wilkinson refused to let her out and began driving her back to the ITN offices.
She said Wilkinson made bizarre comments in relation to her Iranian heritage and the Westminster attack, saying: 'Don't you think the police will be busy today dealing with the likes of you?'.   

Wilkinson, 57, claimed it was working, but the heater was still blowing cold air and Ms Ebrahimi said she was not prepared to pay the fare for the 'freezing' journey.

The cabbie became angry and began to take her back to where he picked her up and didn't let frightened Ms Ebrahimi out the cab - despite her pleas for him to stop, the court heard.

Wilkinson is on trial at Blackfriars Crown Court charged with false imprisonment of the journalist and one count of dangerous driving.

The court heard that during the journey he made remarks to Ms Ebrahimi, including one regarding police being busy on the day because of 'the likes of you'.

Probably a right wing cabbie who thought he would teach her a lesson by turning the heater off.

He will probably now lose his license.

Very silly !

she never cooled off then

What colour was the cab of this "black cab driver"?

Fare dodger, why didn't she get out half way if she wasn't happy.

A black cab driver described as a blustering bully locked a Channel 4 reporter in his taxi before reversing and knocking her to the ground in a 'racist and sexist' attack.   

James Wilkinson, 57, held business correspondent Helia Ebrahim in his vehicle despite her asking ten times to let her out after they got into a row about heating.

When he finally allowed her out of the car, Ms Ebrahim tried to take a photograph of Wilkinson's ID to report him to authorities.

But the driver then reversed his vehicle, ploughing into the journalist and knocking her to the floor.

Ms Ebrahim, 39, had described how she was frightened during the incident and pleaded with the driver to let her out, telling him she felt unsafe.

But she said he had 'sinister' motives and continued to drive in his cab while ranting at her.

Sentencing Wilkinson today, Judge David Richardson said the grandfather would not had behaved this way to a man.

During the episode - which took place on the same day as the Westminster terror attack - Wilkinson also told the Iranian-born broadcaster that police were already too busy 'dealing with the likes of you', the court was told. 

This afternoon jurors took just 30 minutes to convict Wilkinson of falsely imprisoning Ms Ebrahimi.

He was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for a year, and was ordered to complete 210 hours community service.

He was banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay £1,000 compensation. 

Channel 4's business correspondent Helia Ebrahimi, leaving court yesterday, told the jury she was knocked to the ground by Wilkinson's taxi, which left her with bruises and caused damage to her £600 trousers

Judge Richardson described it as a 'racist and sexist' attack and said Wilkinson would not have behaved the same had a man been in the cab.

The driver, of Faversham, Kent - who had not been suspended as a cabbie pending the trial - was also convicted of driving dangerously in Holborn.

Following the conviction, Judge David Richardson told Blackfriars Crown Court that Wilkinson would lose his licence and his job, which he has held for 20 years.   

Upon sentencing, the judge said:  'She asked over ten times to be let out of the cab and you ignored her. You committed these offences against a woman in your cab on her own.

'You are a blustering bully and you would never have behaved like that if it was a man in your cab.

'You took the opportunity to bully someone standing up to you in your cab.'

The judge went onto say: 'You were a black cab driver, we trust our black cab drivers to keep their tempers and obey the law but you committed these offences against a woman in your cab on her own.'

Ms Ebrahimi told the court: 'To me it seemed like an incredibly frightening situation. It felt like to me racist attacks, very personal.' 

The £1,000 compensation to Ms Ebrahimi was for falsely imprisoning her in the locked taxi. 'Reflecting a short, but frightening period of loss of liberty.

Judge Richardson described it as a 'racist and sexist' attack and said Wilkinson would not have behaved the same had a man been in the cab


'We take loss of liberty seriously in this country,' added the judge.

'You could have no complaint if I passed an immediate custodial sentence on you, but I have taken into account your loss of character and career.'

Wilkinson must also pass an extended driving test before his licence is restored.

A probation officer described diabetic Wilkinson as a 'polite and social individual largely' who could do around 7 hours community service a week.

His lawyer Miss Shanthi Sivakumaran told the court Wilkinson has one son, a social worker, and one grand daughter and lives alone, paying a £1,500 per month mortgage.

He has now lost his £2,000 per month taxi job. 'That is going to stop with immediate effect.

To me it seemed like an incredibly frightening situation. It felt like to me racist attacks, very personal
'He is concerned he has lost his livelihood snd is concerned about how losing his licence will impact finding a new job.

'He is very afraid he is going to lose his home and other assets he has.'

During the trial, Ms Ebrahimi told the jury it was just after 8pm when she hailed the cab outside her ITN office in Gray's Inn Road to go to her Notting Hill home.

'I was asking the taxi driver if he could put up the heating,' she told the jury. 'The air coming out of the vents was colder than the air in the taxi.

'He was saying the heating was already on and I said it couldn't be on. He wasn't accepting that there wasn't heating.

'He became frustrated and said: 'If you're going to be like that you'd better get out.'

'I thought that was really unfair, it was a cold night, I had a half-an-hour journey and taxi's are expensive.

'I was quite upset. I didn't understand why he was so angry….Why he was taking it so personally.'

   
'It seemed personal': Ms Ebrahimi, 39, told the court Wilkinson made comments about the Westminster terror attack which happened on the same day and said, 'Don't you think the police will be busy with people like you?' 

She recorded 90 seconds of the row on her phone, which was played to the jury, who heard her repeatedly pleading: 'Can you let me out of the car please.

'I feel very much under threat. I don't feel safe.'

She told the court: 'I said: 'If you're going to kick me out here, I'm not going to pay. It was only three or four pounds.

'At that point he told me: 'Well I'm not going to let you out then. I'm going to take you where I got you. I'm going to take you to the police station.'

Wilkinson then did a u-turn. 'He said: 'Don't you think the police will be busy on a day like this dealing with the likes of you.

'The 'day like this' was the Westminster attack, the terrorist attack. It seemed like a strange thing to tell someone.'

Earlier that day 52 year-old Khalid Masood killed four Westminster Bridge pedestrians he ran over in an van and stabbed to death PC Keith Palmer outside the House of Commons.

'I thought this had escalated to something I couldn't even comprehend. I said: 'Please let me out of the cab.'

She said: 'I couldn't understand his motivation, it seemed a bigger threat. He started to say things like: 'This country use'd to have good people. This city had class.'

'That seemed like a personal attack, that he had an axe to grind.

'I couldn't open the doors. They were locked during this whole period.

'I thought: 'Should I climb out of the window? but that's an idiot's guide. I could break my neck, I was caught in a panic.'

I pleaded with him, saying that I felt unsafe and said please let me out the taxi because I was feeling very unsafe
She described Wilkinson's behaviour as 'sinister' and having a greater motivation than a lost fare.

'He called me a thief and when I pleaded that I was feeling unsafe he said he was feeling unsafe to.

'To me it seemed like an incredibly frightening situation. It felt like to me racist attacks, very personal.'

Wilkinson dropped her off near Gray's Inn Road and can be heard on the recording shouting: 'Get out of my cab!'

Ms Ebrahimi stood by the open door filming Wilkinson's number. 'As I was filming the car's id plate the car went forward and came back and hit me and I went flying into the air.

'I was struck backwards about a metre and a half and fell on my right side.'

She called the police when a second taxi drove her home. 'I had bruises on my knees and legs and a trapped sciatic nerve due to the fall on the lower part of my back.'

Ms Ibrahim is the former Senior City Correspondent at The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph and was a journalist at the Mail on Sunday and CNBC.

£600 for a pair of trousers, she must be minted....