Pictures of a man appearing to light up a crack cocaine pipe on the London Underground have triggered discussion among politicians over the safety of the city’s public transport.
The politicians have been put under pressure to address crime on the Tube after a man was captured on camera holding what appears to be a crack pipe while sitting in one of the carriages.
The images first appeared in a Reddit post, with the user explaining they were travelling back home from work on the Victoria line and noticed a man was “behaving oddly and attempting to light a small, metal pipe”.
The user claimed the man “was phlegming and spitting on the floor near-constantly” while trying to get his lighter to ignite.
The commuter said they moved over to the other end of the carriage, while most other passengers either left the carriage at the next stop or joined them at the other end.
“I went to tell a TfL (Transport for London) worker about what I'd just witnessed, telling them the carriage number, [the] guy’s description and general direction. But the TfL guy said that there basically wasn't much they could do about him,” the Reddit user wrote.
He added that the man was well known to TfL, who had complaints about him every one to three days.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan condemned breaking the law in any way and said that citizens should continue to report what they see.
Speaking to LBC, Mr Khan said: “You shouldn’t be breaking the law, whether it’s on the Underground or on the surface.
“It’s really important people realise on the TfL network not only have you got the Metropolitan Police... on the surface, sub-surface we’ve got British Transport Police (BTP).
“And I’d say to anybody who sees somebody breaking the law... let BTP know or let TfL know and we’ll take action.”
The mayor was asked about the Reddit user stating that, when he reported the incident, TfL said they could not do much about it.
Mr Khan replied: “No, TfL staff can. We’ve got 500 enforcement officers employed by TfL who wear body-worn videos for their sake and also to capture evidence.
“We also have British Transport Police and the Met Police Service and City of London Police, indeed, also out and about on public transport.
“This shouldn't have happened if it was reported. You will make sure that when good citizens, Good Samaritans, report things, actions are taken.”
Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, also weighed in on the discussion adding that police will tackle these sorts of incidents.
She told LBC: “That situation that you described with someone smoking crack cocaine on the London Underground is obviously totally unacceptable.
“I know it will concern Sadiq Khan and the TfL commissioner Andy Lord as much as it would concern me.
“I think the overall point to make here is that the transport network in London, and indeed across the country across the whole, is a relatively low-crime environment.
“Clearly, any increase in the number of incidents, whether on the Tube, on buses, on the trams in London, will be tackled by the British Transport Police alongside the enforcement officers working on the Tube.”
A TfL spokesman said in a statement: “We want all customers to feel safe when travelling and we understand the alarm this kind of behaviour could cause.
“We are working with the police, specialist teams and other agencies to help move vulnerable people away from our network and into help and support.”
A spokesperson for British Transport Police also added: “We are aware of a post on Reddit over the weekend referring to a man appearing to smoke crack cocaine on the Victoria line.
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