A HIGH COURT judge ruled Uber minicabs lawful yesterday following an ongoing row between the cab-hailing app and black cab drivers.

Black cab drivers, many of them members of general union GMB, felt that Uber private-hire drivers were moving in on their territory and provided unfair competition.

They accused Uber of using the calculation meter which was strictly reserved for use in vehicles used by licensed cabbies.

But Mr Justice Ouseley, sitting in London, rejected these claims and said there was nothing to prevent minicab drivers and their customers enjoying “any improvement which technology might bring in the speed and accuracy of their fare calculations.”

However GMB, which was representing black cab drivers, said the union was pleased with the result because it appeared to have been agreed that new legislation is needed to define “plying for hire.”

And Uber also welcomed the ruling as “great news for Londoners and a victory for common sense.”