Last Friday, Transport for London denied Uber a new licence to operate in London on the basis that the company is not a “fit and proper” private car hire operator. Uber’s licence expires on 30 September.

In an open letter, Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi, apologised for the "mistakes we've made”, and said that Uber would appeal against the city’s decision. "While Uber has revolutionised the way people move in cities around the world, it's equally true that we've got things wrong along the way,” Khosrowshahi said. “We will appeal [against] the decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change.”

Uber has hired Thomas de la Mare to lead the appeal against its ban. Earlier in the year, de la Mare helped Uber to convince courts that two of three new TfL restrictions were unlawful.

TfL's concerns also included Uber's approach to carrying out background checks on drivers and reporting serious criminal offences.

Meanwhile, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Uber had brought “unfair pressure” on TfL, employing an “army” of PR experts and lawyers and added that Uber had made “aggressive” threats about taking TfL to court, while at the same time briefing journalists that the company wanted to make a deal.

“I want companies that abide by the rules, I want companies that innovate, harbour new technologies, I want disruptive technology coming to London, but you’ve got to play by the rules,” Khan said.

A Change.org petition to protest London’s decision to not renew the company’s taxi license reached more than 730,000 signatures on Monday

“I have every sympathy with Uber drivers and customers affected by this decision, but their anger really should be directed at Uber,” Khan said. “They have let down their drivers and customers by failing, in the view of TfL, to act as a fit and proper operator.”

Uber has come under criticism over how it classifies its drivers. Last year, a landmark tribunal ruled that Uber drivers in the UK should be classified as workers and not self-employed. Uber has appealed the ruling.