29 June 2025, 14:52 | Updated: 30 June 2025, 07:45

By Danielle de Wolfe

When a rail passenger leaps in front of a train to evade a swarm of ticket inspectors clad in stab-proof vests, it begs the question: how far are we prepared to go to reclaim a fare?

Robert Jenrick’s one-man crusade to bring fare dodgers to justice was a viral stunt that hit on a very real sense of frustration. For those who haven’t seen the clip, the one-minute video saw the shadow justice secretary take to London’s transport network in a bid to confront fare dodgers - or barrier bandits, as I have come to (not so) affectionately name them.

Jenrick’s decision to square up to those openly flouting the law goes against a very British principle: unbridled passive aggression. We’re a nation of silent huffers. A country that chooses to side-eye those disrupting the status quo, with furrowed brows and an apathetic shake of the head, rather than addressing the issue head on.

But then again, is it any wonder?

Recent days have seen a man jailed for the indiscriminate killing of a fellow tube passenger with a single punch. Even Jenrick, while attempting to confront one fare evader, was met with what appeared to be threats of violence, to which he can be heard responding: "You what, you're carrying a knife, did you say?”

This week, during a slightly warm but otherwise mundane train journey, six unmarked ticket inspectors, wearing stab-proof vests,........

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