Fury as London Overground worker is caught travelling on tube while wearing face mask under her chin
Fury as London Overground worker is caught travelling on Victoria Line Tube train while wearing face mask under her chin as TfL DEFENDS policy of not fining majority of passengers without coverings
- Tube worker pictured with face covering pulled down beneath mouth and nose
- Julia Wakefield posted photo, sent by her sister, on Twitter earlier this morning
- Speaking to MailOnline, she criticised Tube operator for failing to ‘set example’
- TfL said it was ‘very sorry’ and that complaint would be reported to management
- ** Do you know the worker or have you seen others flouting the rules? Contact katie.weston@mailonline.co.uk or tips@dailymail.co.uk **
A London Overground worker has been caught travelling on a Victoria Line Tube train while wearing a face mask under her chin.
Julia Wakefield shared a photo to Twitter this morning showing the employee with the face covering pulled down beneath her mouth and nose.
She said the image was taken by her sister, and criticised the mass transportation operator for failing to ‘set an example’ to passengers.
In response, TfL said it was ‘very sorry’, adding that ‘staff should know better’ and the complaint would be reported to management.
It comes as the government body defends its policy of not fining the vast majority of passengers caught without a face covering.
Julia Wakefield shared a photo, pictured above, to Twitter this morning showing the employee with the face covering pulled down beneath her mouth and nose on the Victoria Line train
Ms Wakefield told MailOnline: ‘It was my sister who sent me the photo and she said seeing people without masks is a daily occurrence on the tube.
‘I just think that with so many people ignoring the rules about masks at the moment, TfL staff should really be setting an example.
‘How can they expect people to wear masks when they can’t even do it themselves?’
Posting the photo, she had earlier tweeted: ‘TfL excellent use of a face mask this morning…’
TfL replied: ‘Hi Julia, very sorry about that. That’s unacceptable, staff should know better and we need to lead by example.
‘Really appreciate your feedback, I’ll make sure that this gets fed back to management. I hope you get to your destination soon and your day gets better.’
On its website, TfL states that face coverings must be worn for the ‘full duration of journeys’ on public transport in the capital city, including inside stations, taxis and private hire vehicles.
It adds that those who do not wear a mask on the network could be denied travel or receive a minimum £200 fine – reduced to £100 if paid within two weeks.
In line with Covid-19 rules, masks must cover both the nose and mouth and should not be removed mid-journey unless to eat, drink or take medication.
Repeat offenders will have their fines doubled at each offence – and after the first offence there is no discount, so the second fine is £400 and the third £800 up to a maximum of £6,400.
The tube operator has today insisted that offenders who are let off with a warning are likely to follow the rules on their next journey.
Ms Wakefield’s tweet accompanying the picture and TfL’s response, saying it was ‘very sorry’ and that ‘staff should know better’, alongside a comment from another social media user
TfL’s director of compliance, policing operations and security Siwan Hayward said that around 400 fines have been issued by the transport body to passengers who ‘absolutely refuse to comply with the requirement’.
She commented: ‘We very much want people to do the right thing and Londoners want to do the right thing. We’ll only fine people very much as a last resort.
‘If someone has a face covering with them then what we find is being reminded, being engaged with by our officers, means they will then next time wear a face covering the whole time for the entirety of their journey.’
TfL’s director of compliance, policing operations and security Siwan Hayward, above, said around 400 fines have been issued by the mass transportation body
She added that around 90 per cent of passengers are complying with the rules at peak times.
BTP assistant chief constable Sean O’Callaghan said: ‘We are pleased to report that compliance with this law has been high across the Tube and rail network.
‘However, a small percentage of people are failing to comply with the requirement.
‘We therefore continue to deploy officers across the network to ensure compliance rates remain high on board trains and in stations.
‘Anyone who fails to comply without an exemption is being removed from the network and in some cases where appropriate issued with a fixed penalty notice.’
Meanwhile, one social media user earlier reacted to the photo of the London Overground worker, commenting: ‘Half my carriage this morning was either like this or no mask at all and it’s not unusual to see every morning.
‘I have never seen anyone checking or enforcing in the last five weeks and the numbers grow daily (cases and non mask wearers) so much for making us feel safe @tfl’.
In response to a post from the transport operator reminding passengers to wear face coverings, another Twitter user said: ‘I reported to TfL yesterday that their staff were using no face covers or they were pulled under their chins.
Face coverings were made compulsory in England on public transport on June 15. Pictured: BTP and TfL workers enforcing Covid-19 rules at Seven Sisters LU station in London yesterday
‘I’ve used the network throughout this pandemic and TfL staff never wore face covers and never told anyone else. Police were at some stations but they didn’t wear them.’
A third added: ‘Yes face coverings must be worn but who is there to enforce this rule?
‘I am yet to see someone fined or refused entry on public transport is they’re not wearing face masks. What is TfL doing to protect us from people that refuse to wear face coverings?’
TfL initially focused on encouraging compliance, but switched to an ‘enforcement phase’ on July 4.
TfL and British Transport Police (BTP) also conducted a joint enforcement operation at King’s Cross St Pancras Tube station today.
Passengers stopped for not wearing a face covering did not face further action if they had one with them and put it on.
This included those who had already completed their London Underground journey.
One man who was not carrying a covering was issued with a fixed penalty notice of £200.
Face coverings were made compulsory in England on public transport on June 15, in shops on July 24 and a series of indoor locations on August 8.
The only other two forces enforcing fines against those breaking the rules have been Lancashire Constabulary with two and Lincolnshire Police with one.
With the fines standing at £100 for first offences, this means just £300 worth of fines have been issued by police forces excluding BTP, who patrol trains across Britain.
Social media users reacted to a post from TfL urging passengers to wear face coverings, with one saying they reported tube staff ‘not using’ face coverings or pulling them below their chin
The findings came from a series of Freedom of Information requests sent to all 40 forces in England by London-based marketing agency Reboot Digital.
Separate figures issued by the National Police Chiefs Council last week suggested police have given out 61 fines for failing to wear a face covering on public transport, up from 38 up to the middle of August, while 28 were handed out for not using a mask in shops.
The greater number could be because six forces – including the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police – did not respond to Reboot’s survey.
Last week Stanley Johnson, the father of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, apologised after being photographed in a shop in London without a face mask.
MailOnline has contacted TfL for comment.
