Alan Hunter, a 35-year-old retail worker, was the victim of a homophobic attack on November 27 while travelling on the Jubilee Line, which left him feeling “completely demoralised” as no one came to his aid. According to the Independent, Hunter was travelling home from a Steps concert when he asked a woman and her friends to stop using balloons of nitrous oxide on the tube, which then escalated into an argument.
Hunter said that he was called a ‘f**king f****t’ by the woman, as well as being physically assaulted by her and her friends. He admitted to insulting the woman in response, adding: “Had she not called me a ‘f**king f****t’ I wouldn’t have said anything. I refuse for us to be second-class citizens and just stand there and take it.” He also noted that no one offered him help during the attack, which left him with cuts and bruising on his face.
A recent report found that anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime in the UK is at its highest level since the pandemic began, with over 14,500 homophobic hate crimes being recorded from January to August 2021. Hunter attributed the rise in homophobia to the spread of “right-wing politics” which has “given a free mouthpiece to people who for a long time couldn’t say anything”.
The British Transport Police confirmed that it is investigating the incident and taking it “extremely seriously”.
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