A shake-up of the taxi dispatching system was yesterday backed by Shadow Health and Family Services Minister Kim Young.

Mrs. Young was speaking after calls for a priority call system for women and other vulnerable people to be introduced.

The calls came after the Supreme Court Rebecca Middleton murder trial heard that Ms Middleton and friend Jasmine Meens called three times for a cab to take them home from St. George's -- but it never showed.

The two girls accepted lifts from three men on two bikes and Miss Middleton was later found tortured, raped and knifed to death.

Mrs. Young said: "That child could have been any of our children and the importance of it cannot be forgotten.

"And I'd like to mention the importance of reviewing the taxi dispatch system.'' Mrs. Young said she knew many parents who told their daughters to catch taxis if they were out late at night at a party or drinking.

She added: "We also tell our children to be home at a certain time and if they have to wait a long time for a taxi, it's understandable a child would take a lift so they can get home.'' Mrs. Young said: "This is a really very important thing which is on people's minds and it's something we should really do before something like this happens again.'' She added: "We've sentenced Rebecca Middleton's parents to a life of grief without parole.

"Perhaps if the taxi had come on time, we might have been able to prevent this tragic death.'' But Youth and Sport Minister Dennis Lister said the PLP while in Opposition had tried to get the then-Government to "work with the taxi industry''.

He added: "They take these sort of potshots at issues -- which, if we follow their logic, just came up -- but they have been there all the time.'' Calls for a priority service for women were backed by Ms Middleton's grieving father.

Similar schemes operate in many areas of the UK -- and motoring breakdown organisations also have automatic priority for women callers.

A letter to The Royal Gazette called for women to boycott the taxi trade until a priority call system was set up.

And the woman writer asked Transport Minister Ewart Brown and the Women's Resource Centre to take a lead role in forcing a change.

Dr. Brown did not back a boycott -- unless the taxi industry refused to cooperate.

And he said he was "willing to listen to anyone who can help the taxi industry as a whole move forward''.

And WRC chairman Penny Dill said her organisation was prepared to intercede if enough people showed their support for a new system of dealing with calls for cabs.

TRANSPORTATION TRA