A senior Tory MP has been criticised for a video in which he confronts Tube riders who did not pay as it was revealed London fare dodgers were fined £350,000 last week alone.
Robert Jenrick filmed himself approaching three men who brazenly forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford station and demanded to know why they had not paid.
Mr Jenrick, who served as immigration minister and housing secretary under the previous government, claimed he saw eight police officers ignoring the problem and ticket barriers left open, while one man he confronted allegedly told the MP he was carrying a knife.
Posting the video on social media, where it has been viewed millions of times, the shadow justice secretary accused mayor Sir Sadiq Khan of “driving a proud city into the ground”.
Court documents show that London fare dodgers prosecuted last week were ordered to shell out around £345,000.
Last month over 3,000 people were convicted in cases brought by Transport for London (TfL).
The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), the union that represents the British Transport Police, condemned Mr Jenrick’s stunt.
Maryam Eslamdoust, the TSSA general secretary, said: "We’ve long said that fare evasion should be tackled through proper investment in staffing and enforcement and not by MPs playing hero on the commute.
"What we need is a fully funded British Transport Police, more London Underground revenue control teams, and a serious plan to tackle the causes of fare evasion.
“What we don’t need are performative interventions laced with bizarre and offensive commentary."
It was also revealed that Mr Jenrick did not seek permission from TfL, which requires any filming on its property be done under a licence and accompanied by a valid permit.
Mr Jenrick admitted that he had not followed the guidelines, but told LBC that if transport bosses wanted to “take action against me, bring it on”.
The current rate of fare dodging is estimated to be 3.4%, more than double TfL’s 2030 target of 1.5 per cent. It costs taxpayers around £130million a year.
Beckenham and Penge MP Liam Conlon pointed out that fare evasion in similar sized cites was significantly higher. In New York it is 13%.
He said: “Very strange publicity stunt from an MP in Nottinghamshire.
“TfL fare evasion is 3% and falling, and lower than similar international cities.”
In 2023, TfL prosecuted 19,614 people for fare evasion, an increase of 56% on 2022.
However, this is still a significant drop from pre pandemic years when nearly 30,000 people were taken to court in 2019/2020.
TfL said fare evasion was "unacceptable", adding that it was expanding its team of investigators to "target the most prolific" offenders.
The network has told staff that they do not have to confront passengers suspected of fare dodging if they do not believe it is safe to do so.
Around a half of all violence and aggression incidents towards frontline workers follow a dispute about fares.
Station staff are expected to assist customers to pay correctly for their journeys and encourage everyone to tap in and out.
Earlier this year transport chiefs announced “tough new action” on fare evasion and staff abuse.
Employees wear body cameras and penalties for not paying for journeys were increased from £80 to £100.
