Uber boss ‘shared rape victim’s medical files’
AN Uber boss who allegedly obtained the medical records of a rape victim has been sacked, along with at least 20 other staff.
eric Alexander was head of the scandal-hit firm’s Asia Pacific business when he allegedly obtained the records of a woman who was assaulted in one of its taxis.
Publicly, the company was hugely apologetic, but behind the scenes Mr Alexander reportedly began to investigate her.
The revelation will heap fresh pressure on Uber, which allows users to hail a cut-price taxi via an app on their mobile phones and is already reeling from a series of scandals.
earlier this week the company was accused of exploiting a loophole to avoid paying £40million in VAT, helping it undercut its rivals. And in March, the Daily Mail exposed its alleged links to Downing Street while David Cameron was prime minister.
According to US technology website recode, Mr Alexander acted after a 26-year-old woman in India was raped and assaulted by her Uber driver in 2014.
The driver was already awaiting trial for a string of crimes, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Uber gave his victim more than £772,000 to settle the case, as police weighed up whether to bring criminal charges against the company for its lax background checks.
However, Uber executives doubted the woman’s claims and Mr Alexander allegedly obtained her records. It is not clear how he did this, whether he did so illegally, and if he was asked by the firm or did so of his own volition. He could not be reached yesterday.
Mr Alexander was allegedly so brazen that he showed the records to his boss, chief executive Travis Kalanick. Despite the apparent transgression, Mr Alexander has only just been ousted as part of a clear-out of more than 20 staff.
Uber declined to comment on the case but a spokesman confirmed that Mr Alexander was no longer at the company.
The US firm went on a firing spree after an investigation into sexual harassment and bullying that began in February after a blog by one of its former employees revealed a culture of bullying and sexism at the firm.
Software engineer Susan Fowler revealed that her manager had propositioned her for sex on her first day in the job.
but when she reported him to her
‘Sex harassment and discrimination’
managers and Hr, they refused to punish him.
Mr Kalanick condemned the harassment when it became public, and ordered an investigation by two law firms into 215 claims, including 47 of sexual harassment and 54 of discrimination. Staff also complained about bullying, and threats to their ‘physical security’.
Some 20 of the cases led to sackings, and staff were given final warnings in another seven. More than 50 cases are still under review.
In the time that Uber has taken to conduct the probe, the firm’s reputation has taken a battering.
The Mail has exposed its apparently close ties to Mr Cameron, with Downing Street said to have orchestrated a lobbying campaign to get boris Johnson, then London mayor, to protect Uber.
The lobbying began after rachel Whetstone, Mr Cameron’s close friend and wife of his former adviser Steve Hilton, became Uber’s head of policy and communications. She has since quit.