London mayor wants to make not wearing a mask on Tube a criminal offence

THE London mayor said he is lobbying government to bring in by-law to issue fixed penalties for people failing to wear a face mask on the Tube.

Sadiq Khan has been pushing the government to allow Transport for London (TfL) for a by-law requiring face coverings on London's transport network.

After the restrictions were lifted on July 19, passengers are required to wear a face covering as a 'condition of carriage' rather a legal requirement.

Currently a TfL staff can tell a non-compliant passenger to leave but cannot impose fines.

Speaking to the BBC's Newscast podcast Khan said: "We are trying to lobby the government to allow us to bring in a by-law, so it will be the law again, so we can issue fixed penalty notices and we can use the police service and BTP to enforce this."

He added: "We need people to be coming back to the West End. We want to encourage people to return to their offices.

"They are not going to do so if they don’t feel public transport is safe.

'I’m hoping the government understands, on the issue of public safety and public confidence, we want to be able to use the law to make sure people do wear face masks in spaces where you can’t keep your social distance for obvious reasons."

However, Khan's call for a by-law for face coverings has triggered a backlash on social media.

Moreover, a decision taken by Khan weeks ago means that face coverings are still compulsory on the Tube, with other transport networks choosing not to make it mandatory.

TfL has said the overall compliance rate remains high at 85 per cent.