Dear Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,
Last Thursday I was violently assaulted on a tube train by a stranger.
I went to the Help Point at the next station and pressed the emergency button, hoping the man could be caught.
I pressed the button at least four times. In the harrowing 30 minutes I waited, no one came...no one picked up the intercom.
I later found out that in that 30 minutes a man matching the description of my assailant 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥—and due to the parents deciding not to press charges, the assailant walked free.
This happened in front of British Transport police who were not alerted by:
A) Station staff who should have picked up my Help Point Intercom
B) The Metropolitan Police who I immediately rang and gave a description to minutes after the incident
What I'm saying is that this was all PREVENTABLE.
And had the correct systems operated in the way they were meant to...
This man could have been caught.
The child who was kicked at random, didn't have to go through something that may traumatise them into adulthood.
I want to make it clear that this isn't an isolated incident. I've had numerous people tell me of similar situations of the Help Point not being responsive.
And now that I'm slightly over the initial shock.... I'm angry. Fuming in fact...at the numerous failings that went on that day.
When you're in crisis underground, you funnel toward the help point, trusting that help will come.
When it doesn’t, you’re left isolated—and even more vulnerable to further attack.
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐪, 𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘:
1) Reach out to me directly at hello@sallywynter.com so we can discuss how to investigate this matter further.
2) Plan an urgent audit of all emergency help points at major Underground stations—test them without warning.
3) If the intercom isn’t answered, set up a an automated message directing staff to the ticket hall for immediate help, and log every instance of no response electronically so that these failures are tracked and addressed.
Our safety depends on reliable emergency support. Please fix this now
𝐓𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, my ask to you is to:
- Like, comment on and SHARE this post to your network, friends and family to make sure we make some NOISE.
This will get the attention of the press and decision makers.
- If someone knows Sadiq or decision makers at TFL/ British Transport Police - please put us in touch via the email listed above.
I know you can help me get this in front of the right people to make sure these changes are made and that this lesson is learned for next time, so we can keep each other safe ❤️
#tfl #safety #Londonunderground #metropolitanpolice