London underground driver suspended for ‘Free Palestine’ chant

LONDON: A train driver on London´s underground was suspended on Monday for apparently leading passengers in a chant of “free, free Palestine”, transport officials said. 

The driver has been temporarily removed from duty pending further investigation, Transport for London (TfL) -- which runs the metro network -- said in a statement.

The incident happened on Saturday as about 100,000 protesters took part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the British capital. Video footage that circulated on social media appears to show the driver saying “free, free” over the train´s tannoy system.

Passengers in a packed carriage then respond by shouting “Palestine”. The chant is popular at demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians. “We have been urgently and thoroughly investigating the footage appearing to show a Tube driver misusing the PA system and leading chants on a Central line train on Saturday,” Glynn Barton, TfL´s chief operating officer, said.

“A driver has now been identified and suspended whilst we continue to fully investigate the incident in line with our policies and procedures.” Britain´s security minister, Tom Tugendhat, had wrote on X that many will have found the video “intimidating”.