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Drunk TFL Manager Fined £750 for her behaviour at Westminster Station

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AntoniC

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A Transport for London events manager abused Tube staff and tried to kick a police officer after she was stopped from boarding a train home for being too drunk, a court heard.

Caroline Murphy, 40, had drunk up to two bottles of red wine before she was seen staggering through Westminster station, dropping her handbag and unable to stand upright.

She hurled abuse at London Underground staff after being denied entry to the Tube and then at police who arrived to deal with her.

Blackfriars crown court heard that Murphy had to be wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and put in leg restraints when she tried to kick a British Transport Police officer. “She was quite clearly very, very drunk,” said prosecutor Sheilagh Davies. “She was abusive to staff and unpleasant. She would be shouting and then crying. She would cry to female members of staff and then called someone a c**t.”

She said Murphy wandered into the Tube station control room and when staff tried to send her home in a taxi, cab drivers refused to stop because she was so drunk.

“One moment, she was shouting abusive words and the next she was crying and trying to hug members of staff, saying, ‘I’m sorry’,” said Ms Davies. She said police were called when TfL staff realised they could not safely send Murphy home, but she turned violent and abusive towards the officers.

“She was so drunk she kept struggling, she had to be taken to the ground but did manage to get a leg clear and kicked out towards the officer.”

When questioned by police the next day, Murphy admitted not being able to remember the incident, sobbing that she “couldn’t understand why she had behaved in this way”.

The court heard that she did not usually drink socially, but had been plied with red wine while viewing a potential venue for a TfL event with a colleague.

Murphy, a married mother of two from Brentford, has already been through an internal disciplinary procedure over the incident in October 2016 and could face the sack because of her conviction.

She pleaded guilty to a public order offence of using threatening, insulting, or abusive words or behaviour. Prosecutors agreed to drop an allegation, which Murphy denied, that she had racially abused a police officer.

Judge Jane Sullivan yesterday ordered Murphy to pay £750 and gave her a 12-month conditional discharge.

“You had been at a work do. You had a bottle or two of wine and that is a lot for someone who does not drink. The staff were quite right not to let you travel on the Tube,” she said. The judge accepted that Murphy was “apologetic” for her behaviour and also heard that she was the main financial provider for her family.

British Transport Police reported more than 1,800 incidents of violence or public disorder in which London rail staff were victims between September 2015 and August 2016.

Transport for London announced an extra £3.4 million for policing when the Night Tube was introduced two years ago, amid fears of a surge in drink-fuelled violence.
Source : The Standard 06/02/18 : https://www.standard.co.uk/news/cri...busing-station-staff-and-police-a3759121.html

I am glad to see cases like this being reported in the press because it shows anti social behaviour will not be tolerated by TFL and the courts AND that there are serious consequences if convicted ( she may lose her job).
 
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MattK

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Definitely good to see TfL/BTP pursuing convictions for abuse of frontline rail staff like this.
 

infobleep

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I'm surprised they didn't get a quote from TfL or the police on how they won't stand for rail staff being abused. That's what usually is said when such things get into the press and rightly so. Why should staff have such abuse.

Hopefully the lady in question will learn from this and not repeat.
 

jon0844

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Given wine? At work? Surprised she wasn't considered the victim here.
 

Rogmi

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@AlterEgo
Where the member of staff is prosecuted, TfL may wait for the court's result before carrying out their own *sentence". Meanwhile, the person may be taken off their current job, put on light duties etc., or suspended with or without pay until the court case is heard.

Depending on the seriousness of the incident (whether or not it becomes a court matter), at other times staff will be normally be dealt with internally and often quickly. One of the problems is that with a court case, the time between an incident and the trial can take a long while - in this case, it appears that the incident happened in October 2016 and the trial didn't happen until a few days ago. She (presumably) would have been disciplined at the time of the incident and will now be subject to any further discipline that TfL may or may not decide to take.

Whether she loses her job or not would be up to TfL to decide as part of the disciplinary procedure which takes into account all sorts of things, including past record etc. LU can be harsh at times on front line staff, I'm not sure how back room staff fare within the company. Obviously publicity about a case doesn't help a person, as it bring's the company's name into disrepute (or however they phrase it these days) and that is listed with all the other things that staff mustn't do.
 

matt_world2004

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There is a blanket ban on drinking during work time even if it is at a formal compoany social event.
 

Panda

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There is an exception for employees who "have" to attend functions on behalf of TfL and in this case it is allowed, as long as consumption is reasonable (???) and the policy does state that bring TfL into disrepute may result in dismissal. Not sure being that drunk brings disrepute to TfL though, rather than oneself.

(Different areas of TfL have slightly different policies - this is the TfL one which would apply).
 

70014IronDuke

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Judge Jane Sullivan yesterday ordered Murphy to pay £750 and gave her a 12-month conditional discharge.

“You had been at a work do. You had a bottle or two of wine and that is a lot for someone who does not drink. The staff were quite right not to let you travel on the Tube,” she said.

I'd have thought that was a lot - full stop.
 

Rogmi

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Perhaps she was told that the drink was Ribena :)
Is her excuse that she was plied with drink (perhaps in order to give the firm the contract?)?

Either way, there is a difference between being drunk and having little affect on anybody else, and being drunk and abusing people etc., as occured with the station staff. I think the latter is what TfL will jump on.
 
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