A violent thug who struck a member of London Underground staff round the head with a weapon in an unprovoked attack has been jailed.
Ansar Mahmood, 40, entered Lancaster Gate Underground station and attacked the member of staff on the morning of January 23.
The victim felt a blow on the left side of his face above his left eye, but did not initially realise that he had been cut and believed that he had been hit with a fist, police said.
Mahmood, of no fixed abode, was today sentenced to six years in prison at Blackfriars Crown Court.
Speaking after the sentencing, British Transport Police Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden said: “This was a an unprovoked attack on a uniformed member of London Underground staff in front of members of the public and a number of passengers.
“All staff and passengers have the right to travel on the network without fear of violence. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that we will not tolerate violence on the rail network and that we're committed to providing a safe environment for all passengers and rail staff.”
Nick Brown, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said: “This was a horrible, unprovoked attack towards our customer service assistant who was just doing his job. Our staff should be allowed to carry out their daily work duties without fear of attack from the public.
“Thanks to the work and efforts of the British Transport Police this offender has been successfully prosecuted and we will continue to work with our policing partners to identify offenders and push for the toughest penalties for anyone who abuses our staff.”
Mahmood was charged with wounding with intent and threatening a person with a blade/sharply pointed article in a public place. He pleaded guilty to the offence at an earlier hearing.
