Jack Montgomery29 Mar 20201,066
3:54

Mayor Sadiq Khan is pleading with people to stay off the London Underground, or Tube, to keep it safe for key workers — but as recently as March 3rd he said travel on the subway system presented “no risk”.

In an televised interview on Good Morning Britain, Mayor Khan was asked by host Sussana Reid: “Can you see a situation in which a sort of metaphorical ring of steel is put around London in order not to spread the virus, in the same way that we’ve seen has happened in Wuhan in China?”

Khan insisted he could not foresee such a situation — which has now unfolded in Finland, for example, where Helsinki and the capital region are sealed off from the rest of the country — and claimed that plans were in place were to “contain the virus, to delay it’s spreading”.

Reid pressed her point, however, asking him: “at what point will you say to people, in this containment, or even in the next delay stage, look, being in public transport is obviously a risk factor, people are coughing and sneezing on a crowded Tube carriage, that is going to put you at risk — you know, people might be saying [to Khan] now, as mayor of the city, should we still be getting on public transport and using the tubes?”

“Well, it’s very important that we don’t spread panic or alarm based on misinformation,” the Labour politician replied.

“What we need to do as politicians is to rely upon the best advice we have from the public health experts and from the Chief Medical Officer — there is no risk in using the Tube or buses or other forms of public transport, or going to a concert,” he insisted.