Police investigating hate crime after woman says man tried to pull her hijab off on the tube

‘He proceeded to verbally abuse my friends and I, pinning one of them against the wall and spitting in her face,’ says woman

The woman said she was waiting for a train at Baker Street station when the man approached her (PA)

Police are investigating a suspected hate crime after a man allegedly tried to pull off a Muslim woman’s hijab and spat at her friend.

The woman, who posted about the incident on Twitter, said she was waiting for a tube at Baker Street station in the early hours of Saturday morning when a man grabbed at her headscarf and then hit her.

Her friend was pinned against a wall and then spat at, she said. She also accused a woman who accompanied the man of threatening her.

Tweeting under the name Aniso Abdulkadir, she posted a picture of the man who allegedly attacked her, writing: “This man at Baker Street station forcefully attempted to pull my hijab off and when I instinctively grabbed ahold of my scarf he hit me.”

She continued: “He proceeded to verbally abuse my friends and I, pinning one of them against the wall and spitting in her face.”

She urged others to share the image in order to identify the suspect, attracting more than 28,000 retweets by Sunday afternoon.

A British Transport Police spokesman said the incident is being investigated as a hate crime, adding: “Behaviour like this is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“This incident has been reported to us and we’re investigating.”

The Independent reported at the beginning of July that racial and religious hate crimes rose 23 per cent – from 40,741 to 49,921 – in the 11 months after the EU referendum, compared with the same period the previous year.

Eleven of the 32 police forces in England and Wales that responded to requests for information saw reports of race and faith-based hate crimes increase by more than 40 per cent.

Inquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to get in touch with police by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40.

Additional reporting by Press Association