Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has been filmed confronting suspected fare dodgers at an east London train station - asking one of them if he is carrying a knife amid a barrage of four-letter abuse.
In a video shared on social media on Thursday, the Tory MP accuses mayor Sir Sadiq Khan of “driving a proud city into the ground”.
One man he chases through Stratford train station after he was seen bumping a ticket barrier, allegedly concealed a blade.
The senior Conservative posted his findings on X, formerly Twitter, and claims: “Lawbreaking is out of control. He’s not acting. So, I did.”
During the stunt, Jenrick states he saw eight police officers ignoring the problem and ticket barriers left open.
One Transport for London employee is seen in a booth with his feet up, appearing to scroll through a phone.
Amid an epidemic of violent crime, mobile snatches, tool theft and shoplifting across London, Jenrick suggests they are all “chipping away at society” - along with “weird” Turkish barber shops known to be a front for money laundering.
Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) May 29, 2025
Lawbreaking is out of control.
He's not acting. So, I did.👇 pic.twitter.com/MZSVQ3Sdak
He added: “It’s so annoying watching so many people break the law and get away with it.”
Jenrick records several young people in the video.
One man in a baseball cap and black coat sternly tells him: “F*** off.”
To which the former Tory leadership contender replies: “You can say ‘f*** off’ as much as you want.”
The male becomes aggressive and then says: “I’m warning you now, move!” and claims to be carrying a weapon.
Jenrick says: “You what? You’re carrying a knife did you say?”
He chases a second man: “Do you think it’s all right not to pay?
“Seriously, why don’t you go back through the barrier and pay?”
And the politician tells a third: “Do you want to go back like everybody else?”, which he agrees to do after returning to the concourse with Jenrick.
A spokesman for Sir Sadiq has been approached for comment.
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s director of security, policing and enforcement, said: “The overwhelming majority of our customers pay the correct fare, however there is a minority who do attempt to travel without a valid ticket which is a criminal offence.
“Fare evasion is unacceptable. That is why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network.
“This builds on the work of our team of more than 500 uniformed officers already deployed across the network to deal with fare evasion and other anti-social behaviour, keeping staff and customers safe.
“Fare evasion is not a victimless crime.
“It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport network and we are committed to reducing the current rate of fare evasion to 1.5 per cent by 2030.”
