Tory councillor called a ‘white idiot’ for asking woman to take her muddy feet off his train seat
‘Your wife doesn’t love you’
caught on camera, two commuters trade furious insults for five minutes – over dirty feet on a train seat. an unnamed woman was taken to task after putting her muddy shoes by the male passenger in front.
he admonished her about soiling his trousers – and got a barrage of abuse in return. Fellow travellers watched in astonishment as he was referred to as a ‘white idiot’, threatened with a slap and told his wife doesn’t love him.
It only later emerged that he is the tory councillor on the London assembly responsible for... transport.
the councillor, Keith Prince, last night apologised for getting involved in the ‘petty’ argument, part of which was captured by another passenger on a mobile phone. the extraordinary row took place on a packed Southeastern train during thursday’s rush-hour and was posted on Facebook. One onlooker said the row started because the woman had her feet on Mr Prince’s seat. When she took them off they brushed against his suit and it ‘pushed him overboard’.
In the five-minute bust-up that followed, the woman threatens to hit Mr Prince and calls him an idiot.
When he retaliates, she replies: ‘that’s why you’re not married.’ Mr Prince, who is married to a Nigerian woman called temitayo, flashes his wedding ring and says his spouse is a ‘lovely Yoruba lady’.
to which the woman replies: ‘ Your wife is from where I’m from – you know we have the same accent. trust me, she doesn’t love you, she is using your money, you idiot. touch me again and I will slap you, the same way your wife treats you at home.’
Mr Prince can be heard insisting he just wants her shoes off the chair so he won’t get dirt on his smart trousers. But the fiery exchange quickly escalates to the point where she threatens to kick the councillor in the groin.
Footage shows the woman placing her feet on Mr Prince’s chair, saying: ‘I’m literally grabbing you by your balls, do you understand this? You know you can’t do s***.’
the passenger who took the video said the incident happened on the 8.50am Southeastern train travelling from Dartford to London. the woman is said to have said into her phone at one point, ‘So I get on the train and this white idiot..’ Mr Prince replies: ‘So you’re racist as well now?’ although it was heated, the witness said the row seemed to cool off quickly and the pair were laughing together by the end of the journey. Yesterday Mr Prince, the chairman of the London assembly transport committee, said he was sorry for being drawn into the row.
he said: ‘I regret getting involved in such a petty dispute. this is one of those situations in which it is better to simply walk away.
‘By the end of the journey we were joking with each other and having a pleasant conversation. that said, I’d like to apologise to my fellow commuters for the disturbance our initial disagreement caused.’
Southeastern said it had received no reports of the incident.