'Last orders' turn nasty on Underground

Source

Summary

Seventeen people have been arrested for several public offences in the London Underground. The people arrested were part of a large group of ‘partygoers’ who enjoyed the last chance of drinking on the London Underground. A last chance because a ban on drinking on the Underground would go in effect the next day. The people in the group had made an agreement to be there at that time. This is called a ‘flash-mob’. Although the group was friendly at first it quickly became violent. Because of the heavy drinking, people started to vomit and fighting and vandalism soon followed. The police closed six Underground stations and several trains were taken out of service. A number of train drivers and staff were assaulted and even more people were verbally abused.

Reaction

Drinking should have been banned from the London Underground from the beginning. I do not understand why drinking was not banned already. With all those people packed in these small carriages something had to go wrong especially when they went there to party and to drink alcohol because of the impending drinking ban. Flash-mobs should not be abolished but I think you should not drink to much alcohol doing this kind of thing. I think being drunk in these small spaces with a lot of people around is a recipe for disaster. So I agree with Boris Johnson’s ban on open cans of alcohol on the Underground. I do not know if the metro rail in Holland has a rule about drinking in the carriages, but if not, I hope they institute one.