Lord Blunkett calls for Tube safety reform after injuring himself in platform gap fall
17 November 2024, 08:37 | Updated: 17 November 2024, 08:39
Lord David Blunkett has called for an urgent review of Tube safety after he fell into a gap between a train and a platform, seriously injuring himself.
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The blind former home secretary was taken to hospital following last month's incident.
Blunkett, 77, branded London’s underground stations “death traps” for blind people as he called on Transport for London to enact urgent reforms.
“As I took a step to get onto the tube train I suddenly felt both my feet disappearing down the gap,” he told the Sun.
“In an instant, my body had been propelled forward into the carriage and I was face down on the floor.
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“My legs had somehow been scraped out of the gap and into the carriage.”
The Labour peer has called on TFL to make changes to protect blind people from suffering injuries like his.
“Some of our platforms are death traps. The gap between the walkway and train is huge and they are unsafe for everyone, but particularly for blind people.”
He added: “How many others have fallen and been seriously injured because of the gap? It is not good enough to simply say ‘mind the gap’ and not give any help.
“We need action now to avoid preventable injury or worse.”
The TFL said it is “extremely sorry” to hear of David Blunkett’s injury.
The Labour peer is set to meet with TFL next week, the Sun reports.
