It was all going so well for the fare-dodger. London Bridge Railway Station in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon was fairly quiet.
There were few passengers around, hardly any members of staff could be seen, and there wascertainly no sign of a revenue enforcement team, who can occasionally be spotted gathered together, complete with their stab vests and a couple of British Transport Police constables for company and added protection.
The young man who was some fifteen paces in front of me quickened his step from a brisk walk into a trot, and by the time he reached the ticket barrier, he was into a bouncy gallop.
His left arm quickly extended sideways, landing close to where honest people would place their paid-for travel passes, giving him added height as his left leg successfully straddled the barrier. For the briefest moment in time, I was envious of his youthful athleticism. And then it all went delightfully wrong.
His trail leg (as Colin Jackson might describe it during the Olympics) didn’t quite gain the elevation it needed, and the heel of his smart and expensive-looking training shoe clipped the very top of the barrier. He was so near, yet so far, from executing the perfect fare evasion leap.
What followed was a whirlwind blur of twisted, track-suited limbs, all of which culminated in a very uncontrolled and undignified crashing of this young man onto the floor. I haven’t laughed so much in ages.
I used my travel pass to go through the same barrier, which I was pleased to see hadn’t suffered any lasting damage, unlike this piece of fare-cheating vermin.
By now, he was hobbling around on his one good leg, whilst holding and rubbing what was clearly a damaged ankle on the other.
As I walked towards him, I stifled my giggling long enough to say, ‘Serves you right, and for future reference, the ticket office is over there’. I realise that’s not what they taught me on my first aid course, and I appreciate that I’m highly unlikely to go to Heaven, but I had a train to catch, so I left him and his injured ankle to it. Sometimes, natural justice is a beautiful thing.
Agent Jenrick, your next mission, should you choose to accept, is much bigger than TfL - Peter Bleksley
X/Robert Jenrick
I was therefore filled with delight when I saw Robert Jenrick’s video circulating on social media this week, where he was filmed challenging fare-dodgers on the London Underground.
The Shadow Justice Secretary seems to be enjoying life now that he’s free from the shackles of being in government. Highlighting the rampant nature of this dishonesty is exactly what he and other MPs should be doing.
Jenrick clearly put the issue in front of his own safety, and I was very pleased that I was able to shake his hand and thank him personally as we had a brief conversation on the front steps of the GBNEWS Westminster studio just the other day.
If he fancies deploying similar tactics on other similar issues, then I’d like to suggest shoplifting. He wouldn’t have to venture far from his parliamentary office to witness that rampant epidemic which is blighting so much of the UK. Likewise, litter. Or graffiti.
None of these matters have been tackled with enough resources or vigour by the police and other authorities in recent times, yet they are playing a large part in the decline of our nation. Once upon a time, not so long ago, we trusted the bodies whose responsibility it is to deal with these crimes to do just that.
Now the criminals largely run free to do as they like, and all of this contributes to us becoming the low-trust society in which we now live. If we can’t trust the powers that be to deal with matters that are solved quite simply, then why on Earth should we trust any of them to deal with the more serious matters?
Dreadful things happen in low-trust societies, and many potential flashpoints lie ahead.
Sir Keir Starmer, should you be reading this, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
More From GB News
Most Read
