Uber’s a disgrace, says McDonnell, amid taxi row

UBER is a “disgrace”, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said, as Labour heavyweights intervened in the row over the taxi app firm losing its licence to operate in London.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Transport for London (TfL) had raised “serious concerns” about safety.

Unite union boss Len McCluskey said the firm was part of a “horrible, race-to-the-bottom culture”.

Mr McDonnell told ITV’s Peston on Sunday: “The company is a disgrace. You have to abide by the law. If the company was outside the law, what could Transport for London do?

“I think the company is at fault... Four months ago they were told to get their act together and they didn’t.”

Mr Corbyn said: “What I think we need with Uber is decent pay and conditions for its staff.”

He added: “There is an issue about safety. Clearly the public want rapid access to taxis of all sorts, it should be regulated, the public should be protected.”

He told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show the dispute was “either going to go to court or they are going to mend their ways and make a new application”.

Mr McCluskey told Peston on Sunday he had never taken an Uber and added: “I’m one of these people that believes that Uber is part of this horrible, race-to-the-bottom, culture that has developed in this country.”

But Streatham MP Chuka Umunna said: “I’m one of millions of Londoners who have used an Uber.”

He added: “If they don’t comply with the rules, I won’t get an Uber again. But they have an opportunity here to comply with the rules.”

More than 600,000 people have signed a petition calling for the decision not to grant the licence to be reversed.