Radio star Mair put off telling police
BY ANDREW ARTHUR RADIO presenter Eddie Mair has revealed he was attacked by a gang at a bus stop – but felt too ashamed to report it to police.
Mair, 52, said the youths struck in December as he was travelling home after having dinner with friends.
The Radio 4 presenter was circled by a gang of three thugs riding bikes as he walked to the bus stop, with one wheeling their front wheel close to his face.
Mair said he attempted to film their behaviour while he waited for his bus but the neds were wearing hoodies and he couldn’t capture their faces.
The PM presenter was struck on the head by one of the youths while he was paying for a bus ticket, resulting in a large bruise above his right ear.
Mair said that when two of his fellow passengers offered to help him report the incident to police, he felt like he “just wanted to sit down and get home”.
He revealed he was reluctant to tell authorities what had happened as he felt a sense of guilt about the London attack.
Mair added: “I told no one, least of all the police. Not my family or friends, not work colleagues. I felt shame. I felt I may have been in some way responsible for what happened. Did I goad the little b ****** s with my video recording?
“On the bus that night, a woman who came to my aid urged me to report it to try to stop other people being assaulted. But still I resisted.
“For weeks, every time the local paper reported an assault, I believed that I had contributed to it. More shame.”
Mair said he eventually informed the police before he left for a trip abroad.
When he returned to the UK in February, officers watched his video of the attackers but had few clues to their identity. They told Mair he should have reported the incident earlier as CCTV footage would have been available for up to a month after it happened.