The transport secretary has dismissed a recent video posted by Robert Jenrick, which showed him pursuing alleged fare dodgers on the London Underground, as the act of a “politician masquerading as a have-a-go hero.”
Heidi Alexander suggested that the shadow justice secretary’s actions were motivated by political ambition rather than a sincere effort to address fare evasion.
Speaking to LBC Radio on Wednesday morning, Alexander said she considered the video, now viewed over 14 million times on X (formerly Twitter), to be “more about [Jenrick’s] future candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party, rather than a genuine desire to tackle fare evasion”.
Jenrick, who ran for the Conservative leadership in 2024, visited Stratford station last week, where he filmed several alleged fare dodgers appearing to break the law.
The shadow justice secretary posted the video with the caption: “Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground. Lawbreaking is out of control. He’s not acting. So, I did.”
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Reacting to the video, Alexander also criticised the record of the previous Conservative government, accusing them of cutting police numbers in London.
She said: “Well, look, I’m not sure what the country needs is politicians who masquerade as have-a-go heroes, to be honest, and I can’t help but think that his video last week was perhaps more about his future candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party, rather than a genuine desire to tackle fare evasion.”
The transport secretary added: “The last Conservative government cut police numbers in London, took away the grant that Transport for London used to get, but it is really important that we take fare evasion seriously.
“We commissioned a report from the Office of Rail and Road, which has been published today, looking at the ways in which we can ensure that we tackle fare evasion robustly, whilst also being fair to people who have made a genuine mistake.”
Pressed further on what the government is doing to clampdown on so-called “fare dodgers”, Alexander said: “Well, you need revenue protection officers, on the networks whose job it is to tackle fare evasion.
“I know that lots of train operating companies and Transport for London have rolled out things like body-worn cameras as well, which are really important if you are dealing with incidents in the moment.
“That can be evidence of how people are responding. It makes staff feel safer as well, and so that type of investment, which protects staff but also leads to more likelihood of a successful prosecution.
“I think those sorts of investments are really important if we are going to have a robust approach to this.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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