Robert Jenrick: MP confronts alleged fare dodgers at Stratford Station, takes swipe at Turkish barbers

The footage, which he shared on X (formerly Twitter), shows Jenrick asking one man if he is carrying a knife and accusing Mayor Sadiq Khan of allowing lawlessness to thrive in the capital.

“Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground. Lawbreaking is out of control. He’s not acting. So, I did,” Jenrick wrote in the caption accompanying the video.

In the clip, Jenrick follows several young men after one of them allegedly jumped a ticket barrier. He is heard asking one: “Do you think it’s all right not to pay? Seriously, why don’t you go back through the barrier and pay?” To another, he says: “Do you want to go back like everybody else?” - a suggestion the individual eventually agrees to.

One tense exchange sees Jenrick ask a man: “You what? You’re carrying a knife did you say?” After the man warned: “I’m warning you now, move!”

He also points out what he claims are failings by public staff, stating that eight police officers and a Transport for London worker scrolling on a phone did nothing while fare evasion occurred.

“It’s so annoying watching so many people break the law and get away with it,” he says, before adding a swipe at “weird Turkish barber shops known to be a front for money laundering.”

The incident quickly drew criticism online, with users questioning Jenrick’s conduct and motivations. “This is really odd behaviour from an MP. Are you the police? A journalist?” asked local councillor Peymana Assad on X. Another user added: “Staff at the barriers are told to ignore fare evaders. They're not trained to confront them and have no legal authority to detain them.”

Some were in support of him, saying: “Basically these guys weren’t doing what they’re paid to do, they were just stood around chatting. So you did their job for them and thanked them for it. They probably just let him go and got back to chatting.”

TfL’s Director of Security, Policing and Enforcement, Siwan Hayward, responded in a statement: “Fare evasion is unacceptable. That is why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators... Fare evasion is not a victimless crime. It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport network.”

Critics were also quick to revive Jenrick’s past controversies, particularly his admission in 2020 that he unlawfully approved a £1bn housing scheme that saved Tory donor Richard Desmond up to £45 million in taxes. A resurfaced screenshot of a news report from that time made the rounds again as users questioned Jenrick’s moral authority.

Jenrick had however told a parliamentary committee that he was acting in accordance with “natural justice” by getting the scheme through before the charges would have applied.