Corbyn urges more protection for delivery drivers after fatal stabbing

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for better protection for delivery drivers, after a moped rider was stabbed to death in London.

The MP visited the scene of a knife attack in Finsbury Park, in which a 30-year-old man was killed on Friday night, sparking the Metropolitan Police’s first murder investigation of 2020.

The victim, named locally as Taki Dine, was found on Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road at about 6.50pm.

Friends at the scene on Friday said he was Algerian and worked for Deliveroo and Uber Eats as a delivery driver.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, who is leading the investigation, confirmed his next of kin have been informed, but that a post-mortem and formal identification have yet to take place.

Speaking at the scene on Saturday, Mr Corbyn, whose Islington North constituency includes Finsbury Park, said: “People should not be carrying knives. A human life has been taken.

“There are a lot of people working as delivery drivers, they must have better conditions of employment and employers must take more responsibility for their safety too.

“Police cuts have meant fewer officers on the streets, and this raises issues of safety in the community in general.”

He added: “Delivery drivers do a great job in London all of the time. Yet they are vulnerable. They’re often on zero hours contracts, yet the food they are carrying is insured.

“So the delivery driver is less valuable than the food they are carrying.”

Mr John said: “The investigation is at a very early stage. It would appear at this time that an altercation has taken place between the victim, who was riding a motorcycle, and the driver of another vehicle in the vicinity of Lennox Road and Charteris Road, Finsbury Park.”

He added: “The incident itself appears at this early stage to have been spontaneous and not connected to, or as a result of, anything other than a traffic altercation.”

Deliveroo and Uber driver Zakaria Gherabi, 37, who knew the victim, said he had been attacked last October and left with a dislocated eye socket.

Mr Gherabi told the PA news agency: “My attackers are still on the streets. The police do nothing.

“It happens. Nobody is going to save you. The company does not care, we are self-employed, but the food we are carrying is insured.”

Fellow delivery drivers attended the scene alongside members of the Motorcycle Action Group to lay a floral tribute.

One rider, Sourin Aydi, said Mr Dine was his “best friend” and added: “I can’t believe it, I did not sleep last night. He was a wonderful man, funny with a great sense of humour and always laughing.

“If you have a bike then you are a target.”

A Deliveroo spokesman said: “This is a tragedy and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.

“We take the protection and safety of riders extremely seriously.

“All Deliveroo riders are automatically insured and the company routinely works with local authorities on issues related to rider safety.”

On Friday, fellow delivery riders gathered in Stroud Green Road said he had been the victim of a road rage attack following an altercation with a car driver.

A witness said the driver who attacked the victim was driving a Volkswagen Caddy and did not try to steal his moped from him.

No arrests have been made and inquiries continue, the Met said.