A Sky News presenter compared Robert Jenrick to a Hollywood star over the video showing him tackling fare-dodgers on the London Underground.
Trevor Phillips quoted a famous line delivered by Liam Neeson in the film Taken as he interviewed the shadow justice secretary this morning.
In the video Jenrick posted on X last week, the former Tory leadership candidate is seen confronting several men who had forced their way through the ticket barriers on the Tube rather than paying for a ticket.
He said lawbreaking was now “out of control” in the capital, and accused London mayor Sadiq Khan of “driving a proud city into the ground”.
On Sky News this morning, Phillips told Jenrick: “As I was watching it, the words ‘I have acquired a very particular set of skills, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you’ occurred in my mind. You’ll know the reference, I imagine.”
That is a line from the film Taken, in which Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a former government operative trying to rescue his daughter.
Phillips added: “Is this a new Robert Jenrick pitching for something – leader of the Conservative Party? Mayor of London?”
Jenrick replied: “No, I’m just trying to do my job as shadow justice secretary.
“You can wear a suit, you can be in Westminster, you can do great interviews with individuals like yourself, speeches in parliament, or you can also get out of Westminster, start talking about issues.”
Phillips then interrupted him to say: “This is Tik Tok politics though, isn’t it?”
But Jenrick said: “I think you’ve got to listen to the public and sometimes you’ve got to shame the authorities into taking action.
“I’ve done this about litter in Birmingham, I’ve done it about tradesmen having their vans broken into and their tools nicked. I think this is an important way of raising issues.”
Jenrick was criticised for his actions by by Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the TSSA union, which represents Tube staff.
She said: “We’ve long said that fare evasion should be tackled through proper investment in staffing and enforcement and not by MPs playing hero on the commute.
“What we need is a fully funded British Transport Police, more London Underground revenue control teams, and a serious plan to tackle the causes of fare evasion. What we don’t need are performative interventions.”
