Woman says British Transport Police delayed response after train assault report

Esme Rice waited 13 hours for a British Transport Police response after texting the force about a sexual assault on a train. Rice, from Hackney Wick, said she sent the message about two minutes after the incident and did not receive a call back until around midday the following day, leaving her feeling “massively let down,” “disappointed and confused.”

The case centered on an assault on board an eastbound Elizabeth line train just before 11pm on Saturday 6 June 2026. British Transport Police was investigating an incident in which a group of buskers boarded at Whitechapel station and two men from the group sexually assaulted a woman before getting off at Stratford station. On 12 June, the force released an appeal linked to the investigation.

British Transport Police's 61016 text service is intended for non-emergency crime reports from passengers and rail staff, and it can be used to report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences. Officers can meet a train at the next station when needed.

The UK government refreshed the long-running “See it. Say it. Sorted” campaign on 16 September 2025. Reports to BTP’s 61016 text service had risen more than eightfold to 255,088 a year since the campaign began in 2016, the government said.

British Transport Police recorded in 2023 that over a third of women had been sexually harassed on their commute by train or tube. London Assembly figures showed BTP recorded 2,670 sexual offences in 2024/25, up 10% from 2,437 in 2023/24. Across England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics recorded 209,079 sexual offences in the year ending March 2025, up 11% on the previous year, and estimated around 900,000 people aged 16 and over were victims of sexual assault, including attempts.