Hackney Green Party calls on the council and the borough’s two Labour MPs to investigate the reported rise in moped crime in Hackney following the horrendous acid attacks in the borough last week.

The Greens are very concerned at comments made by one of the acid attack victims, Jabed Hussain, that motorcycle couriers now deem the Queensbridge Road area, where he was attacked, a ‘no-go’ area, after several drivers have reported being attacked there, not just with acid but knifes and other weapons as well.

Spokesperson Alastair Binnie-Lubbock said: “It’s good that the government seem to be taking action on the abhorrent use of acids as a weapon, however, reports that an area of Hackney is deemed a no-go area for delivery drivers is very, very worrying and, sadly, reminiscent of the ‘bad old days’ of this borough. It’s disappointing that Meg Hillier MP has made no comment on these comments by Mr. Hussain about this area of her constituency. We’d like to see the police, the council and MPs do more to ensure everyone feels safe walking, cycling and driving around the whole borough at any time of day and night.”

Hackney Greens wish Mr Hussain and the other victims a full recovery, but are also concerned that if delivery drivers like him are being targeted, this group of vulnerable workers are often without sick pay due to the exploitive nature of their contracts with companies like Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

Spokesperson Alastair Binnie-Lubbock added: “The recent Taylor report on the gig economy did not go far enough to address the problems with the so-called gig economy. We call on catering establishments in Hackney to ensure that their delivery drivers are treated fairly and push for the delivery companies they use to do the same.”

Notes

Jabed Hussain was interviewed in the Guardian on Friday 14th July: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/14/acid-attack-victim-jabed-hussain-delivery-drivers-have-felt-unsafe-for-months
On acid attacks Green Party Co-leader Caroline Lucas MP recently asked the government about whether they would look to restrict sales of materials used in acid attacks: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-07-04/2974/
Caroline Lucas has also written about acid attacks and her work here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/caroline-lucas/acid-attacks-are-on-rise-government-must-act-now
Green Party London Assembly Member quizzed the Metropolitan Police on their response following an attack in London Fields: http://questions.london.gov.uk/QuestionSearch/searchclient/questions/question_293865