A woman who was attacked on a Tube train in central London has said she was then left standing on a platform for a “harrowing” 30 minutes because no one answered the emergency calls she made from a help point.
Sally Wynter said she had been left traumatised after being punched by a stranger on a busy Victoria line train on 27 March, but her attacker was able to get away because she could not raise the alarm.
Ms Wynter has written to Sir Sadiq Khan – who has overall responsibility for the Tube network – describing the intercom system as a failure and urging him to “fix it now”.
City Hall has apologised, saying it was unacceptable her calls were not answered and an investigation had begun.
‘No response’
Ms Wynter told London that as her train had approached Green Park station at about 16:30 GMT, she “suddenly felt a punch to the right side of my right arm”.
“I was pushed into the glass by a stranger that I hadn’t seen before,” she said, adding her attacker then got off the train.
When she got off the Tube at the next stop, Oxford Circus, she was “in shock” and pressed the emergency button on the platform’s intercom “at least four times”, expecting a member of staff to respond and then try to stop the assailant.
She said when she received no response, she had tried to contact British Transport Police (BTP), but could not get an urgent response.
She then called 999 and was re-directed to BTP, but gave up and left, she added.
BTP said officers attended the station after being made aware of the incident and conducted a search for the victim.
As they could not find her at the station, a telephone statement was arranged for later in the evening.
The force added that a man from south London was later arrested and bailed in connection with the assault.
It was later reported to police that a child had been attacked at Green Park station shortly after the assault on Ms Wynter, by a man of the same description.
Ms Wynter said she believed it was the same attacker and the second assault could have been prevented if her calls had been answered.
Help points, which include a fire alarm and buttons to call for assistance and for in an emergency, are installed across the Tube network.
Ms Wynter said her situation highlighted that the system failed to help passengers in need, which she said was “very dangerous”.
“There’s a variety of reasons people use these points and it’s quite clear to me that the way these help points are set up is antiquated – these systems don’t integrate properly into the campaign around what people should do.”
She added: “I was lucky in the sense that I was away from my attacker but it could have been so much worse.
“It’s an urgent problem that needs to be addressed. “
In a letter to Ms Wynter, London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, said passengers on TfL’s network “deserved to feel safe” and have “confidence that if things do go wrong, help is always available”.
Mr Dance added he was “deeply saddened” about what happened and invited Ms Wynter for a meeting.
In a statement, TfL said: “We are investigating as a matter of urgency why Ms Wynter did not get the help she should have and have reached out to her to offer support.”
