A Muslim woman travelling on an evening bus towards Clapham described being called a “Muslim b****” by a female passenger who continued to abuse and swear at her throughout their journey.

The perpetrator also told her: “look at you with your dirty hair, you sl*g, you sl*t.”

A Spanish man, disturbed by the ongoing abuse, approached the driver to intervene, who, according to the Muslim woman, dismissively declined to intervene, claiming that the perpetrator had ‘mental health issues’.

The man then approached the Muslim woman to check on her, asking how she was doing, but she did not want to reveal how upset the abuse made her.

The Metropolitan Police continues to investigate the anti-Muslim and Islamophobic incident, which occurred on the evening of October 12.

Transport for London (TfL) provides forms to complain about buses and their bus staff on its website, with TfL aiming to reply within ten days. London Travelwatch is the official watchdog for transport users across London for those seeking to escalate complaints further. If individuals remain unhappy about how the above handled their complaint, they may consider raising a complaint with the Ombudsman.

She described the perpetrator as a Black woman in their mid-to-late fifties.

The growing problem of hate crime on London buses made headlines earlier this year, showcasing that recorded hate crime on London buses during the first Covid-19 lockdown jumped from 43 in May to 115 in June – a startling rise of 167.44 per cent. A spokesperson for Tell MAMA told the press at the time: “These figures are concerning since they show that prejudice against people of colour and of perceived different faiths rose. This underlines the fact that some in our society easily blame others for issues that affect us all and that sadly, prejudice is still alive and well and that it shows its head when we are in crisis collectively as a society.”

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