A tale of two hats

L ONDON Underground worker and RMT member Alix Wood, was hav- ing a normal day when she attended work at 5.00am at Waterloo London Underground station last summer. However, life was about to take an unexpected and very unpleasant twist. Out of the blue, she was arrested by British Transport Police, body searched in front of a male manager, kept in custody for seven hours, suspended from duty for eight weeks, dragged through the courts four times, banned from LUL property and charged with stealing her London Underground uniform hat that was sitting in her locker. No evidence Ms Wood’s long ordeal began when she was asked to attend Stockwell Underground station to make a statement to police regarding an assault on a work colleague. When Ms Wood arrived at Stockwell she was sent back to work without the statement being taken and summoned to the manager’s office. She was met by British Transport Police and, without more ado, other than identifying themselves and showing a warrant, she was arrested on suspicion of theft. Ms Wood was given no explanation as to why she was being arrested. She was then taken by the two police officers and the Duty Station Manager to her locker and police seized her uniform hat as “evidence”. Roy Parfitt of RMT solicitors Kaim Todner described the arrest as “astonishing” as police disclosed absolutely no evidence that Ms Wood had committed any offence. “It is a fundamental principle of English law that a person is innocent unless, or until, they are proven guilty. “Police have to prove that a person has committed an offence, that person does not have to prove their innocence,” he said. Mr Parfitt explained that if police have reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence of theft has been committed, they may arrest anyone whom police have reasonable grounds for suspecting to be guilty of the offence. “However, given that Ms Wood was arrested prior to the search of the locker it is difficult to see what ‘reasonable suspicion’ police could have had prior to the searching of the locker and the seizure of the hat,” he said. Immediately after the locker was searched, the DSM suspended Ms Wood from work and seized her locker key. A terrorist threat? When Roy Parfitt first arrived at Euston police station to represent Ms Wood he was informed that police suspected that she had advertised a LUL hat and shirt on ‘eBay’ an internet auction site – allegations consistently denied by Ms Wood. In this case police disclosed absolutely no evidence that Ms Wood had committed any offence. As a result the union solicitors advised her to make a ‘prepared’ statement that could be read at the start of her tape recorded interview. Ms Wood accepted this advice and a statement was read whereby Ms Wood denied the charges. During the course of the interview police raised concerns that terrorists could have obtained these old items of uniform. Despite these alleged concerns, after A tale of two hats INNOCENT: Alix Wood celebrates with RMT London regional organiser Bobby law 14 The bizarre story of how an RMT member was arrested, suspended for eight weeks and dragged through the courts after being caught in possession of her own London Underground hat this bizarre story broke in the media, an interested party handed in a British Transport Police hat to Unity House which they had indeed acquired on eBay. The union immediately informed the BTP of this development which revealed that BTP hats are easily available on the internet. Crown Prosecution Service in the dock Following the interview with Alix, police sought the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service as to what further action they should take. The Crown Prosecution Service was formed to ensure that there was an independent and transparent organisation that would review the decisions of police following a person being charged. It was intended to ensure that a person was charged with the correct offence and most importantly that a prosecution would not continue if there was not sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction. However, over the years the independence and transparency of the Crown Prosecution Service has eroded to the point that it is now the CPS that makes the decision to charge, decides on the appropriate charge and whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a conviction. In this case the CPS advised police that Ms Wood should be charged with the ‘attempted’ theft of a hat (the shirt does not get another mention) despite the complete lack of evidence. After four court appearances, Mr Parfitt informed the CPS that the union intended to go to the High Court for a Judicial Review. Following this threat the allegation was dismissed. Mr Parfitt said that it was “incredible” that this case went so far before being thrown out. “It is even more bizarre and very worrying that the Crown Prosecution Service tried to proceed with the case knowing that there was no evidence,” he said. Protect yourself RMT London regional organiser Bobby Law said it was one of the worst cases he had ever come across which traumatised a loyal and longstanding member of staff who had an unblemished character. “Finding an LUL hat in the locker of an LUL employee at an LUL station is obviously a stunning piece of police work, but this has been a major ordeal for Alix. “This colossal waste of police time and an estimated £20,000 of taxpayers’ money speaks volumes for the BTP’s priorities when violent assaults on the Tube are up by nearly a quarter and our members can rarely get an officer to respond to an emergency call,” Bobby said. The union is currently exploring avenues of legal action to compensate Ms Wood for her ordeal. RMT branch secretary Jason Humphreys, who represented Alix throughout the case on behalf of the union, said that the moral of the whole sorry saga was for staff to protect themselves by joining RMT and getting legal cover as you never know when you might need it. Alix is now back at work after her harrowing experiences and has been transferred to a different work location. Hats off to RMT London Underground has since conceded to RMT demands that the wearing of hats by around 10,000 staff is no longer compulsory. The union advises members not to sell their redundant hats on eBay. 15