Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick expressed his hope that a video he shared, capturing him confronting fare evaders on the London Underground, would “shame individuals into taking responsibility.”

In an interview with Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live, Jenrick criticized behaviors like fare evasion, graffiti, and playing music on public transport, claiming they are “eroding the fabric of society.”

When asked if the austerity measures of his party contributed to these issues, Jenrick acknowledged the need for “honesty about the past errors of the previous Conservative government.”

In response to his video, Transport for London (TfL) described fare evasion as “unacceptable” and announced plans to grow its investigation team to “target the most frequent offenders.”

The video, which has garnered over 3.5 million views on social media platform X, shows Jenrick confronting multiple individuals who appear to be slipping through barriers to avoid fare payment.

Alongside the video, he included a message stating: “Sadiq Khan is leading a proud city towards decline. Lawbreaking has spiraled out of control. Action is lacking. Therefore, I took a stand.”

Justifying his video project, Jenrick shared that he was “fed up with fare dodging” and felt compelled to “bring attention to the problem.”

“It reflects poorly on the authorities – in this case, TfL or the police – for not stepping up to enforce regulations,” he remarked.

“It leaves honest users feeling foolish. Why should they pay for their Tube fare when others do not?”

When questioned about whether he obtained permission from TfL prior to filming on their property, he stated, “I wasn’t aware that was a requirement,” adding, “They should focus on those breaking the law, not on enforcing their rules.”

TfL aims to cut down the fare evasion rate—which currently costs the organization over £100 million annually—to 1.5% by 2030.

Last month, it reported a fare evasion rate of 3.4% for the 2024/25 period, a decrease from 3.8% in the previous year.

TfL also noted that fare evasion in New York is around 13%.

Earlier this month, announcing a new strategy to combat fare evasion, TfL stated they would leverage data and CCTV to analyze travel behaviors and concentrate on “repeat offenders.”

In its press release, TfL reaffirmed its commitment to addressing overt fare evasion, such as “gate-pushing,” which creates “an intimidating environment for both staff and customers.”

Additionally, the organization mentioned plans to increase the number of accredited enforcement officers on its network, who will have the authority to deny access and remove violators from stations, deploying them specifically to areas with high incidences of people bypassing gates.