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‘I’m a key worker, I don’t want to get ill!’: London mayor Sadiq Khan criticised as Tube packed for third day of lockdown

‘Come on Mayor Sadiq Khan — you must run enough trains for people to maintain 2m distancing or they will infect each other and be unable to provide essential work’

Kate Ng
Thursday 26 March 2020 12:26 GMT
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Coronavirus: Who should stay home and for how long?

London mayor Sadiq Khan is facing a slew of complaints from key workers as Transport for London (TfL) networks remain packed due to a number of reduced services.

Rush-hour passengers tagged Mr Khan on Twitter on Thursday morning to voice their frustrations and fears that the dense crowds directly contradict the government’s advice to practice social distancing.

Patricia Pereira posted a photo of a crowded escalator in Waterloo and said: “Jubilee line service packed, Waterloo station escalators out of use, forcing people to use the ones that are working and be extremely near.

“3 TfL staff by gate line talking, no one [managing] the crowd, helping on social distancing! Can TfL resolve gathering?

“I am a key worker, I don’t want to get ill!”

Another Twitter user, Denise Bennett, wrote: “Message from daughter, going to work as a nurse in London — ‘tube station is rammed’. How can she stay safe, keep her patients safe when she has to travel to work like this?”

Piers Morgan commented on Ms Bennett’s tweet, adding: “Ridiculous. Come on Mayor Sadiq Khan — you must run enough trains for people to maintain 2m distancing or they will infect each other and be unable to provide essential work. Sort it.”

Others scoffed at the idea that people would be able to maintain the recommended two-metre physical distance from one another on crowded public transport.

One person said: “London is a joke, packed tight tube every morning. Most major sites are closing down now. Government say they can continue as long as they work 2 metres apart. But stand 2 foot apart on the tube lol.”

Mr Khan tweeted this morning that one in three TfL staff are ill at home or self-isolating and added: “We cannot run more services”.

He encouraged employers to allow staff to work from home wherever possible to protect key workers and advised people who do have to go to work not to travel during rush hour.

The mayor also thanked “Londoners who are following the rules and staying home”.

“Early morning tube use is down another 13 percent compared to yesterday, bus use by a further 8 percent.

“The more we stay at home the more lives we can save,” he added.

On Wednesday, Boris Johnson told MPs it should be possible to “run a better Tube system” after concerns about the Tube operating at around 50 percent of its normal capacity were raised.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also said there was “no good reason” why train services have been cut so extensively.

But a spokesman for Mr Khan said ministers had been told there weren’t enough staff to run a full Tube service and accused them of not making “difficult decisions” to ban non-essential construction work and give enough support for people to stay at home.

Transport union TSSA’s general secretary Manuel Cortes also criticised the government for expecting TfL to be able to run a full service at present.

He said in a statement: “In all seriousness it looks as though the Tories are prepared to defend the interests of building companies who’ve made huge donations to their coffers, rather than protect the lives of ordinary Londoners and Tube staff.

“The Government must ban working on all building sites now unless the work is vital to protect health and safety — and make sure these workers are given the financial package they need.

“As I have said, ministers must come forward today with measures guaranteeing the income of workers in the gig economy, the self-employed and freelancers.

“That will go a long way to reducing the numbers who feel they have no choice but to travel to work on public transport in the capital and beyond.”

TfL and Crossrail announced earlier this week it temporarily stopped all construction sites to reduce the number of non-key workers travelling. Only essential maintenance of the transport network will be allowed to continue.

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