Foreign Office blacklists Uber after envoy’s murder

Diplomatic staff told not to use app after driver raped and killed Beirut embassy worker in ‘senseless’ attack

UBER has been blacklisted in Lebanon by the Foreign Office after one of its drivers raped and murdered a British diplomat, an inquest heard.

Rebecca Dykes was killed while making her way home from a night out with friends in the Gemayzeh district of Beirut, Lebanon.

Tariq Houshieh, who was working for Uber, raped the 30-year-old before strangling her with a cord from his hooded jumper and dumping her body by the side of the road.

Ms Dykes had booked the ride using the Uber app, whose driver identification and rating system was seen by many, especially women, as offering better safety guarantees than just hailing a cab off the street. Houshieh later confessed to the “senseless” attack, which took place in December 2017, and was handed a death sentence in 2019.

He is now appealing to have the sentence commuted, Mylondon reported.

Houshieh was allegedly able to work as a taxi driver despite having a criminal record and twice being arrested for alleged harassment and theft.

An inquest into the death held at Southwark coroner’s court heard evidence from embassy security officer Alyson King about the arrangements in place. She told the court that in 2017 staff were advised to only use three vetted taxi companies for personal travel. Uber was not one of the companies.

However, Ms King said that some embassy workers would use different travel companies. She said: “It came to light afterwards, many staff were using other taxi companies.”

Bharat Joshi, head of security for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said a review after Ms Dykes’s death had found a “very, very strong” security culture.

Despite that claim, he added that many staff working at the embassy chose not to follow advice to use vetted taxi firms, with many using Uber because of their “familiarity” with the brand and the long potential wait times for the vetted companies.

He added that there had “never been a serious incident” before this involving Uber in Lebanon.

Following the murder, the government of Lebanon urged people to avoid using the company, with one minister branding it unsafe. Ms Dykes’s sister asked witnesses at the inquest if guidance had now been changed to actively urge staff to avoid using Uber. She was told they had updated their advice.

Ms Dykes had been working for the Department for International Development and was in Lebanon helping refugees fleeing the war in Syria.

Jane Houng, Ms Dykes’s mother, said: “I hope that no parent has to go through what we have had to go through.”

Andrew Harrison, the senior coroner, recorded a conclusion of unlawful killing and said “great steps” had been taken to improve security of staff.