The Deliveroo boss has apologised for allowing a dispute with his riders to escalate after the government forced the food delivery company into concessions over pay. Deliveroo has been at odds with its couriers in London over changes to pay terms that the riders said would significantly reduce their earnings. The plan prompted hundreds of riders to protest against an attempt to pay them for each delivery instead of an hourly rate. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy stepped in on Sunday to say that workers must be paid the “national living wage” of £7.20 an hour unless a court or the HM Revenue and Customs rules that they are self-employed. William Shu, Deliveroo’s co-founder and chief executive, said...“I’m very sorry things have gone to this point. Our riders are the life blood of our business and without them we are nothing,”