Man jailed after knife fight with teenager on tube train

Tube still safe despite shocking footage of 'aggressive and atrocious' encounter, authorities insist

A man who stabbed a teenager on board a London Underground train just minutes after threatening another man with the knife has been jailed.

Joseph Dunkley was sentenced to eight years in prison following a “shocking display of violence” on a Victoria Line tube train last summer.

But his victim, 18-year-old Samuel Gbo, was also handed a suspended prison sentence after he retaliated with a blade of his own.

The “aggressive and atrocious” brawl began at Brixton tube station on 5 August last year where Dunkley, 46, was approached by another man at about 5.30am, British Transport Police (BTP) said.

The pair argued and began fighting, before Dunkley pulled out a knife and lunged at the man, who ran away. Dunkley entered the station and walked toward a northbound Victoria Line train.

A group of men including Gbo, then 17, had also entered the station and boarded the train, police said.

BTP said in a statement: “Dunkley confused Gbo with someone else he knew, becoming violent and aggressive.

“During the journey towards Stockwell, Dunkley threatened the group of men with a knife and then stabbed Gbo.

“[Gbo] also produced a knife and stabbed Dunkley twice on the arm. Throughout the tube journey the violent disorder between the group of men and Dunkley continued.

“At Stockwell the disorder spilled onto the platform.”

Police and paramedics were then called to Stockwell station.

Joseph Dunkley, 46, of Plaistow, was jailed for eight years (British Transport Police)

PC Neil Lane, of BTP, investigated the double assault. He said: “These defendants unleashed a shocking display of violence on board the Victoria Line train. They lunged at each other, inflicting serious wounds which required medical attention.

“Passengers using this early morning service were unsurprisingly frightened by this aggressive and atrocious violence.

“Knife crime will never be tolerated on the London Underground network, and today’s sentence shows the consequence of knife crime.

“The tube network is rich with CCTV, and we use this vital evidence to identify offenders and bring them before the courts. Those individuals who are intent on carrying knives should see this sentence as a deterrent to this reckless behaviour.”

Transport for London insisted its network was a “safe, low-crime environment”.

“Customer and staff safety is our top priority, which is why we invest in a comprehensive network of 12,000 cameras across the tube network and dedicated transport police officers,” said Siwan Hayward, its head of transport policing.

Dunkley, of Florence Road in Plaistow, was jailed for eight years at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

He had been found guilty of affray, violence disorder, unlawful malicious wounding and GBH with intent, and had previously admitted possessing an offensive weapon.

Gbo, of White Hart Lane in Wood Green, was sentenced at the same court on 16 March. He was jailed for 16 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge, after admitting violent disorder, possessing an offensive weapon and unlawful malicious wounding.

Figures released late last month revealed the largest-ever jump in knife crime across England and Wales.

Almost 40,000 offences involving knives or sharp weapons were recorded by police in 2017 – the highest level in seven years.

It came amid a spate of stabbings in London, where there have been more than 60 murders since the beginning of 2018.