Maida Vale stabbing: Driver who hit knifeman with car - and later died - asks Met to ‘de-arrest’ him

The motorist who drove his car “towards” a knifeman, who was stabbing his ex-partner to death on a London street, has urged police to treat him “as a witness rather than as a criminal”.

Leon McCaskre, 41, knifed the 43-year-old victim Yasmin Chkaifi to death on Chippenham Road, Maida Vale, in west London, in the morning of Monday, January 24.

He died after being hit by the car driven by the 26-year-old motorist, who has since been arrested by the Met Police on suspicion of murder.

But the man, who said his name was ‘Abraham’ released a statement via his lawyer, in which he said his “only regret” was not being able to save Ms Chkaifi’s life.

In a video posted by lawyer Mohammed Akunjee on Twitter, he said on behalf of his client, who described himself as a “Muslim man”, that he “can confirm I am the person identified as the driver of the blue Renault Clio relating to those events”.

‘Abraham’, who said he was “of good character” and had never been arrested before, said he was making his way to work and waiting in traffic in the area at approximately 9am.

He said: “I witnessed a man repeatedly stabbing a defenceless woman on the pavement a short distance in front of my car.

“Members of the public were attempting to intervene. The attacker was wielding a knife and was threatening those brave citizens too.

“My instant thought was to protect the woman who had been stabbed.”

‘Abraham’ said he drove his car “towards the attacker” but “did not intend to harm [him]”.

The car struck McCaskre, who was “taken under it”, meaning ‘Abraham’ could not reverse it to free him.

He said that he and passersby “attempted to lift the car… so we could provide the man with first aid” but were unsuccessful.

“I am deeply sorry that the man I tried to stop from attacking other people has died,” he said.

“It was never my intention to harm him. I just wanted to stop him from hurting anybody further.

“My only regret is that God did not allow me to be present at the scene sooner so that my intervention may have saved the life of the young woman concerned.”

While he said he understood the police were “doing their job”, he added: “I do not see why I as the person who tried to assist in the defence of other human beings remain arrested and am on bail under suspicion of murder.

“I have asked my solicitor to contact the Metropolitan Police to request that they consider de-arresting me and begin treating me as a witness to a tragic event, rather than a criminal.”

Mr Akunjee is a consultant criminal defence solicitor with west London legal firm Waterfords Solicitors.

Described as Tasnime Akunjee, he has worked in terrorism-related law since 1999, and advised the families of the so-called ‘ISIS bride’, including the schoolgirl, Shamima Begum.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “We are investigating the deaths of two people in this incident.

“Two families are bereaved and looking for answers. It is therefore essential that the investigation proceeds in an objective and professional manner.

“As with all investigations into violent deaths, we will gather all the available evidence and this can take time.

“Only when we are satisfied that we have all the facts can we fully understand the circumstances that led to the deaths and consider the most appropriate course of action.”