E-scooters: Met Police action needed after girl's death, coroner says

Fatima Abukah was killed on Green Street in East Ham in March

A coroner has called on the home secretary and Met Police commissioner to take action to prevent further e-scooter fatalities after the death of a 14-year-old girl.

Fatima Abukah fell under the wheels of a minibus in east London on 21 March.

It is illegal to ride privately owned e-scooters on public roads.

Coroner Graeme Irvine said fatalities more than doubled after the Met changed its policy, which led to the force confiscating fewer e-scooters.

An inquest into Fatima's death found that she was riding a privately owned e-scooter on the pavement in East Ham. She then entered the road and travelled alongside a minibus before falling under its wheels. She was not wearing any safety equipment and suffered traumatic head injuries.

In his prevention of future deaths report Mr Irvine noted that there had been eight recorded fatalities involving e-scooters in the capital since 2019.

Several London boroughs are trialling rental e-scooters, which can be used legally

The east London senior coroner wrote: "Whereas approximately 4,000 unlawfully used scooters were seized by the Metropolitan Police Service in 2021, only 1,100 were confiscated in 2022. The reduction is attributable to a change in policy introduced in November 2021."

He found that the number of deaths in the first half of 2022 was "more than double" the same period in 2021.

Several London boroughs have been conducting trials of e-scooters, which must be rented privately. Only e-scooters - which are limited to 12.5mph - hired through the scheme are legally allowed on London's roads.

Mr Irvine also wrote that some manufactures and retailers provided written warnings about using e-scooters illegally but that they were often "not prominent".

Recipients of the coroner's report, also including London's mayor, the transport secretary and major retailers, are under a duty to respond to it by 8 February.

The Met Police has been approached for comment.

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