Uber just emailed a petition to all of its customers in London after it was stripped of its licence

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Uber has emailed customers in London with a link to a petition after it had its licence stripped by transport regulator Transport for London (TfL).

The "Save Your Uber in London" petition was started by Tom Elvidge, Uber's general manager in London, and will be delivered to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

At the time of writing, the petition had 10,289 signatures and approximately 1,000 were being added every minute.

"To defend the livelihoods of 40,000 drivers - and the consumer choice of millions of Londoners — sign this petition asking the Mayor to reverse the decision to ban Uber in London," the petition reads.

Elvidge also states: "By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and the Mayor have given in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive millions of Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport. This decision is affecting the real lives of a huge number of honest and hard-working drivers in London."

This is not Uber's first petition. The taxi-hailing app received 90,000 signatures in September 2015 for a petition against introducing a series of tough new rules for Uber.

Uber said it will challenge TfL's the decision in court.

It's a major blow for the ride-hailing company, which is hugely popular among Londoners. The city is its biggest market in the UK, with around 40,000 registered drivers in the capital, according to the firm's own figures.

TfL said Uber was not "fit and proper" to hold a licence, and said the firm's approach to reporting serious driver offences, approach to driver medical and safety checks, and use of its secret "Greyball" software to dodge transport officials all contributed to its decision.

This doesn't actually mean Uber will stop operating in London after September 30, according to TfL's statement. The firm has 21 days to appeal the decision, and can continue operating in London until that process is exhausted.

Here is the full petition:

The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) today announced that they have decided not to renew Uber’s Operator Licence when it expires on 30th September.

By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and the Mayor have given in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive millions of Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport. This decision is affecting the real lives of a huge number of honest and hard-working drivers in London.

The 3.5 million Londoners who rely on Uber to get a safe, reliable and affordable ride around the best city in the world will be astounded by the decision to ban Uber from the capital.

This ban shows the world that London is far from being open and is closed to innovative companies, who bring choice to consumers and work opportunities to those who need them.

Safety is of the highest importance and drivers who use Uber are licensed by Transport for London and have been through the same enhanced background checks as black cab drivers. Our pioneering technology has gone further to enhance safety with every trip tracked and recorded by GPS.

To defend the livelihoods of 40,000 drivers - and the consumer choice of millions of Londoners - sign this petition asking the Mayor to reverse the decision to ban Uber in London.

#SaveYourUber