A 19-year-old victim of homophobic abuse was allegedly held in a stranglehold and forced to apologise for being gay on a London tube.
Investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying two men they’d like to speak to in connection with a violent incident on a Jubilee line train between West Ham and North Greenwich.
The incident happened on 21 October at around 11.10pm, when the alleged offenders boarded the train at West Ham and verbally abusing the victim and his friends, using homophobic language.
They were challenged about their language, which is when the incident purportedly became violent.
British Transport Police report,
“The first offender then pulled the victim from his seat into a headlock, strangling him.
“The second offender took the victim’s phone and verbally abused him again, also making threats to stab him.
“They demanded the victim apologise for being gay which eventually the victim did as he was struggling to breathe. They then let him go and handed back his phone and a fight ensued between the victim’s friends and the offenders.
“One of the victim’s friends, a 25-year-old woman, was punched and pushed to the ground. She sustained bruising.
“The original victim did not sustain any injuries”.
The two men then disembarked the train at North Greenwich, leaving the victims on the train.
Officers would like to speak to the people shown in the images as they may have information which could help the investigation.
If you recognise them, please call BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016, quoting reference number 273 of 1/12.
In a statement the BTP said, “Hate crime will not be tolerated by British Transport Police. We believe that everyone has the right to travel safety. We won’t tolerate behaviour where someone is targeted because they are perceived to be different, or made to feel uncomfortable on their journey”.
You can text the British Transport Police on 61016 to report non-emergency incidents.
