‘Bitten, mocked with monkey chants, called slaves’ then prosecuted for ‘self-defence’ – Channel 4 News

The leader of civil rights group Southall Black Sisters has called on the Crown Prosecution Service, British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police to apologise for wrongly prosecuting three black women for sexual assault after they were victims of a racist attack on the Underground.

As minorities across the UK face the threat of violence from resurgent far-right gangs, Selma Taha told Channel 4 News in an exclusive interview with Danae Thomas and Davina Riggon that she has no confidence the Crown Prosecution Service or police can distinguish between minorities protecting themselves and racist aggressors.

Taha also said authorities are using legislation designed to protect minorities to prosecute them: “I have no confidence that the CPS can distinguish between those who are rightly trying to challenge themselves and stand up for themselves, but more importantly, want to protect themselves.”

Selma Taha, Danae Thomas and Davina Riggon say they were victims of a racist attack on the Northern Line at Kings Cross Station on September 29, 2023.

During the incident, the women say they were subjected to monkey chants, racist comments and curses and were called “slaves” before Selma Taha was bitten by a drunken white female passenger. It soon emerged that an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer had been present the entire time of the abuse, but the women said he only intervened when the altercation turned physical.

Yet after the Kings Cross incident, the women believed that their attacker had won sympathy from the police by crying. When the women angrily appealed to officers about her behavior, Danae Thomas accused a police officer of not listening to the women’s concerns and failing to understand their experiences as black women.

“We were screaming, but that was because we weren’t being heard,” said Davina Riggon. “Then they blamed us and changed the story.”

Danae Thomas said to the officer, “You’re a white police officer and you don’t listen.” The officer then asked Danae Thomas, “What does that (race) have to do with anything?”

Ms. Thomas later told the officer, “Can you understand that she’s crying at you and as soon as you turn around, she’s sticking her tongue out at me, can you understand how triggering that is? Because she’s a white woman or a woman of another ethnicity who presents herself as a victim. And this is my daily life. Remember, you’re walking around in a privilege that I don’t have access to.” The officer then accused Danae Thomas of racism.

In a heated exchange that included verbal abuse of police officers and lasted more than 10 minutes, Danae Thomas was reportedly charged with racially tinged intimidation of the officer. Her abuser, on the other hand, was given a warning for racially tinged behavior and no further action was taken.

British Transport Police said: “We presented the evidence we had available, from bodycam videos, witness statements and CCTV footage. The CPS considered the evidence met the threshold for a charge.

Detectives have conducted a thorough investigation into this incident to establish the full circumstances. This has included extensive reviews of CCTV footage, bodycam videos and witness statements to provide an independent account of the incident.

Our findings were then submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, who considered that the evidence met the threshold to authorise charges. However, two of the women who were cautioned for public order offences refused and were therefore charged. The CPS subsequently dropped all charges before trial due to an unrealistic prospect of conviction.

We are pleased that investigators have conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations made by both parties.”

The prosecution’s case against the women failed when the prosecutor admitted that it was unlikely they would be convicted.

In an emotional interview in which the women speak to each other for the first time, they question how minorities can trust the system at a time when they so desperately need it to protect them from a rising far-right movement bent on doing harm.

The interview with Danae Thomas, Davina Riggon and Selma Taha raises concerns about the disproportionate prosecution of minorities by the criminal justice system and the interpretation of racial discrimination laws.

The withdrawn case follows a series of other controversial prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service and police to prosecute or investigate ethnic minorities for racially motivated offences despite raising concerns about racism themselves.

In response, a CPS spokesperson said: “Our handling of this case – or any case – was in no way determined by racial prejudice. New information came to light before trial which meant there was no realistic prospect of conviction and the case was dropped as quickly as possible.”