London mayor calls for face masks to stay on public transport 

Amid reports the legal requirement to wear face coverings will be dropped from 19 July, Sadiq Khan has urged the government to rethink.

“Today the mayor has had discussions with the TfL Commissioner, and both are clear that the simplest and safest option going forward would be for the government to retain the requirement for face coverings on public transport,” a spokesperson for the London mayor said.

They said: “The mayor has always been clear that face coverings have an important role to play both in giving Londoners confidence to travel on public transport, which will be crucial in our economic recovery, and as a tool to protect each other during this pandemic.

“Many millions of Londoners use both national rail services as well as TfL services to complete their journeys each day, making any divergence of rules across different modes of transport complex as well as confusing for passengers.”

Mr Khan’s spokesperson added that if the requirement for mandatory face coverings is lifted, TfL will be discussing with other train operators and the government the “next steps and how to ensure passengers have the confidence to use public transport”.

TfL could decide to make masks mandatory across its network, but without a legal requirement from the government it could be difficult to enforce.