Addison Lee criticised for insensitive ads following the murder of Uber passenger Rebecca Dykes

Friends of murdered British diplomat, Rebecca Dykes, have criticised British private hire firm, Addison Lee, for advertising it's "safer" cars campaign in online stories about the victim who was raped and killed by her Uber driver whilst on a journey in his vehicle in Beirut on December 16. According to reports in The Times , the Private hire firm ran the campaign on Twitter and several other online news outlets. Addison Lee responded by saying the advertisement had "inadvertently appeared in the Twitter feed relating to the tragic death" of Dykes. The advertisement contained the slogan: "rely on us to drive you safely into 2018. Book your New Years ride with Addison Lee". It appeared in searches including #RebeccaDykes, #murder and #personalsecurity. The advertising campaign was cancelled after complaints that it was "insensitive". An Addison Lee spokesperson said: "We regret that our advertisement inadvertently appeared in the Twitter feed relating to the tragic death of Rebecca Dykes. "As soon as we became aware of its positioning we took steps to withdraw it and we are acting to ensure that this situation does not reoccur"