A taxi driver accused of breaking pick-up rules has been cleared of any wrongdoing after video evidence showed him being “racially abused”.

Syed Kazmi had been accused of demanding £20 to £30 up front to take a group of five passengers from Gordon street to Castlemilk.

He was reported to enforcement officers by a fellow cabby amid claims the driver was operating illegally by not using his meter.

But licensing chiefs accepted Mr Kazmi’s version of events after he insisted the group also asked to go to Rutherglen – outside the Glasgow boundary – meaning he didn’t have to use his meter.

It was the second time the driver has appeared in front of the licensing committee after he was accused of pirating in 2015 – something his lawyer, Al Latif, blamed on “cultural differences”.

Mr Latif told the committee: “My client had five people who were drunk on the night and gave them a quote based on where they wanted to go. It was four drops, including one outside the Glasgow boundary, therefore, he didn’t have to have his meter on.

“The other driver was telling people not to use Kazmi as he is an illegal immigrant, his taxi was illegal, and his licence was illegal, which is untrue.”

The allegations came despite Mr Kazmi never actually allowing the group to enter his taxi.

He claimed that he only gave a quote of £20 to £30 to the group, who then chose not to accept that.

Enforcement officers were told that Mr Syed had become racially abusive after the passengers didn’t pay the cash and moved to the next taxi in the rank.

But video evidence, produced by Mr Latif, failed to show those alleged remarks.

Instead the footage showed one of the five passengers tell Mr Syed: “You’re all the same.”

That was interpreted by the licensing committee to be a racially aggravated comment about members of the Asian community.

Mr Syed was also questioned about a previous appearance in front of the licensing committee where he was accused of picking people up without using his meter.

But Mr Latif said: “Cultural norms in the UK are different from other areas of the world. When drivers come from other parts of the world the standard has to change.

“If you got to places in Pakistan or India they don’t have the meters. Until they learn the rules in Glasgow they sometimes get fined and questioned for things they do.”

Licensing committee member Graham Campbell, agreed with Mr Latif’s comments.

He said: “Many of our drivers come from other countries. It’s a very different system. We’re very hands-on with regulation. There is a shift in a cultural way of doing things.”

Speaking about the “you’re all the same” comment made to Mr Kazmi on Gordon Street, he added: “You don’t need to have a racial slur in a statement for it to be racist. That person meant something racist. There is no doubt that it was a racially motivated statement.”

Hanif Raja said that he didn’t agree with the cultural mix-up but in relation to the ‘racist’ remarks made against Mr Kazmi, he added: “The accuser’s voice sounded as if he was being racist towards the driver.”

No action was taken against Mr Kazmi for the incidents after no breach of licence was found to be committed.