London Underground driver strikes over pay have been suspended

More people have been victims of hate crime on the TfL network compared with previous years, new figures reveal.

TfL recorded 2,974 hate crimes in 2023-24 – compared with 2,217 in the previous year.

One victim of a homophobic attack – one of the categories on the increase – was followed by a gang of men who whispered homophobic slurs and nudged him towards the platform edge, BBC News reports.

Dan Harry, a presenter and a filmmaker, said ‘nobody helped or said anything to me’ when he was attacked by three men at King’s Cross station.

When he got onto the platform, the men, who had tried to get his attention on the escalator, followed him until they stood behind him and whispered ‘horrible, homophobic slurs.’

He said: ‘As the train was getting closer, I could feel them getting closer and closer to my back, and they were almost nudging me forward closer and closer to the platform edge.

‘I remember feeling really scared and I didn’t know what to do.

‘Nobody helped or said anything to me – and that almost stayed with me more than the initial homophobia I experienced in the first place.’

He said he managed to get away but he regrets not reporting it. At the time, he was ‘overwhelmed’ and didn’t have ‘a lof of faith in the authorities to actually find justice,’ he said.

Another victim who has come forward is RuPaul’s Drag Race star Elektra Fence.

Elektra said: ‘It was Pride month and I was getting off the escalator at London Bridge in full face, – which is drag make-up – and a gentleman got off the train and kicked me.

‘He was also calling me homophobic names. I nearly tripped down the escalator.’

TfL has deployed a specialist team to patrol the network in a bid to tackle the crime.