Sadiq Khan backs TfL's decision to suspend Tube driver who led 'free Palestine' chant on Central Line

Transcript

00:00 We heard yesterday that the Tu driver who was seen leading that pro-Palestine chant

00:04 on the Central Line has been suspended. Do you back TfL's decision to suspend him?

00:07 Yeah, I've been in regular contact with the Transport Commissioner since Saturday. It

00:12 was him that informed me about this. Look, TfL has got policies and procedures that have

00:16 got to be followed. TfL have suspended the driver. It's very important TfL follows the

00:21 processes in relation to any disciplinary offences, but it's the right thing for TfL

00:25 to have done.

00:26 Did you play any part in ensuring that that suspension happened?

00:29 No, it's very important, even though I'm the Chair of TfL, that I stay out of individual

00:34 cases for obvious reasons that could prejudice the outcome. And you know, what I don't want

00:38 to do is, because of me, a process be challenged as being unfair. But the Commissioner reassured

00:45 me on Saturday that the processes were going to be followed. He made sure that steps were

00:48 taken to identify the line, the train, the driver. But also, it's really important that

00:55 the processes are followed properly.

00:57 Sir Mark Rowley has talked since the start of this week about how the law around policing

01:01 hate crime might need to shift slightly because he can only police up to the existing legislation.

01:07 Do you support him in making that point?

01:09 I fully support the Police Service and what Sir Mark is trying to respond to, which is

01:14 this. Look, the job of the police is to enforce the law. They can't apply the law with their

01:22 own inherent prejudices that we all have. They've got to apply the law without fear

01:25 or favour. What the police are also doing is working with lawyers from the Crime Prosecution

01:30 Service if there's any confusion about what the law is. And over the course of this weekend

01:35 and last weekend, by and large, the vast, vast majority of protesters protested in a

01:40 way that was lawful, peaceful and safe. I'm afraid a small minority appear to have broken

01:44 the law. There'll be more than 30 arrests. There'll be more arrests coming around the

01:49 corner. If it's the case that the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister are unhappy, what they

01:54 can be doing is clarifying the law rather than criticising the police.

01:57 And changing it, possibly?

01:58 If it's the case that Parliament aren't happy with the current law, they can change the

02:03 law. The police can't change the law. The police have got to apply the law when it comes

02:07 to enforcing the law. What they can't do is change the law.

02:09 Does the law go far enough currently in your view?

02:11 Well, I think the law in relation to protest is quite clear. In relation to the public

02:15 order act is quite clear. There's been clarity provided. In my view, the police applied the

02:21 law correctly this weekend. There are some people who may have broken the law, have not

02:24 been arrested. They may well be arrested going forward. The police have made appeals for

02:29 people to help with identifying certain people on the protest. But the police do an incredibly

02:34 difficult job, fast moving protests. Over the course of the two weekends, hundreds of

02:39 thousands of people protesting. I think the police work incredibly hard and they've got