Lord Blunkett injured after falling into gap at Tube station
The Labour peer and former Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough MP, who is blind, called on Transport for London to do more to keep visually impaired people safe.
Last updated 17th Nov 2024
Lord Blunkett, from Sheffield, is calling for action on "death trap" tube platforms after he was injured falling into the gap at Westminster station.
The British Labour Party politician who has been a member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the member of parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough from 1987 to 2015, called on Transport for London to do more to keep visually impaired people safe.
He himself is blind, and was getting on a District Line train with his guide dog three weeks ago when his feet slipped.
"As I took a step to get on to the tube train I suddenly felt both my feet disappearing down the gap.
"In an instant my body had been propelled forward into the carriage and I was face down on the floor.
"My legs had somehow been scraped out of the gap and into the carriage.
"I didn't fully know what had happened. I felt enormous pain in both my legs; they were bruised and grazed," he wrote in the Sun on Sunday.
"Extraordinary bruising"
Lord Blunkett's fall came after a recent heart attack that means he must take blood thinners, which make any bruising or bleeding dangerous.
An X-ray confirmed "extraordinary bruising" but no broken leg, and he says he is "angry" about what happened.
"Whenever you step into a tube station in London you hear the tannoy warn people to 'mind the gap'. But too often there are no staff members to actually help you if, like me, you cannot see."
He is calling for TfL to make efforts to fill the widest gaps on platforms and make sure there is always someone there to help, especially during rush hour.
"Some of our platforms are death traps. The gap between the walkway and train is huge and they are unsafe for everyone, but particularly for blind people."
He will soon meet TfL to ask for answers and an urgent review into the safety of the busiest tube stations.
Lessons will be learned - London Underground
Nick Dent, London Underground's director of customer operations, said: "We were extremely sorry that Lord Blunkett was injured on our network.
"We have written to, and will be meeting with, him to discuss how we could have managed the incident better and to ensure that lessons are learned.
"The safety of our customers and staff is at the forefront of everything we do, and while injuries like the one experienced by Lord Blunkett are rare, we are undertaking a huge range of work aimed at eradicating such incidents and making travelling even safer for everyone."