'They followed me, whispering homophobic slurs'

There has been a significant rise in the number of hate crimes on the London transport network, newly released figures suggest.

Homophobic attacks are one of the categories on the increase - which could be partly explainable by increased awareness of the reporting process.

But many victims keep the abuse to themselves - some of whom say they regret doing so.

Dan Harry, a presenter and documentary-maker, had just left a date at King's Cross station when he was attacked by a group of men.

"As I went on the escalator, I could sense three men were behind me and were trying to get my attention. I was trying to just ignore it.

"I get on to the platform, I could see they'd followed me and now they're standing behind me and whispering things in my ear. Horrible, homophobic slurs.

"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 was eventually able to get away - but said one of his biggest regrets was that he didn't report it.

"I just felt overwhelmed, I didn't really know what to do, and from what I've heard from friends who have experienced similar things, I just don't have a lot of faith in the authorities to actually find justice.

"However, if I could go back I absolutely would report it."

RuPaul's Drag Race star Elektra Fence has also been the victim of homophobic attacks "numerous times" on London transport.

"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.

"I thought, 'I've got to report this, I'm fed up of these attacks, I'm fed up of seeing these attacks, of them happening to me, I'm fed up of all this hate crime'.

"I know one of my trans friends was spat at on the Underground, which is absolutely disgusting.

"Why would you do that to someone who is just living their life, being themselves, their authentic selves?"

Transport for London (TfL) recorded 2,974 hate crime incidents in 2023-24, compared with 2,217 in the previous 12 months.

It has deployed specialist teams to patrol the network to crack down on such incidents.

Team manager for the patrol, Aiden Costello, said he could see hate crime was increasing.

"Racially related hate crimes have gone up significantly since we've been out on the network.

"It's the same with homophobic hate crimes - anything relating to the LGBTQ+ community.

"We take a zero-tolerance approach to any kind of hate crime on the network."

He said he would encourage anyone who experienced it to report it.

"The more reports that get put in, the more something can be done about it."

The Metropolitan Police defines a hate crime as "any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice" based on:

• A person's race or perceived race
• Religion or perceived religion
• Sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation
• Disability or perceived disability
• Transgender status or perceived transgender status

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