Uber's UK head stands down as CEO arrives in London

Jo Bertram has stood down from her role as head of operations for ride-hailing app Uber in northern Europe as the company's global chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, arrived in London in order to plead his case to Transport for London for the reinstatement of the firm's licence in the capital.

Uber said Bertram's resignation was not related to TfL's decision to not renew the business' London licence, and that she had actually handed in her resignation at the end of August, weeks before the ruling.

Bertram told fellow employees that she had "decided to move on to something new and exciting" after four years with the company.

"Given some of our current challenges, I’m also convinced that now is the right time to have a change of face, and to hand over to someone who will be here for the long haul and take us into the next phase," she said.

"While I would like to have announced my move in smoother circumstances, I’m proud of the team we’ve built here and am very confident in their abilities to lead the business into the next chapter."

The Californian company launched an appeal against the revocation of its licence and would be able to trade until a decision was reached.

Uber's general manager for London, Tom Elvidge, was set to take on Bertram's role until such a time as the company had found a more suitable successor.