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Attorney General declines to reopen case involving Covid-19 death of Belly Mujinga

ATTORNEY General Suella Braverman ignored calls today to reopen the case of railway worker Belly Mujinga, who died after being spat at by a man who claimed to have coronavirus. 

Ms Mujinga, a ticket office clerk, died of Covid-19 in hospital on April 5, 11 days after the attack on the Victoria station concourse. 

The British Transport Police said that, following “extensive inquiries,” it had determined that the attack did not lead to her death. 

The force also said that no further action would be taken against the man and closed the case last week. In a statement, the police said there was no evidence of anyone spitting.

Despite calls from Labour for Ms Braverman to reopen the case, she declined to do so.

Shadow home office minister Bambos Charalambous said in the Commons: “British Transport Police have decided not to refer that matter to the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] for prosecution, not even for common assault.

“So can the Attorney General demand the investigation to be reopened and for swift action so that there can be justice for Belly Mujinga’s family?”

Ms Braverman replied: “This was a tragic incident and it was appalling frankly that Belly Mujinga was abused for doing her job at Victoria station and my thoughts are with her friends and her family.

“British Transport Police did conduct an investigation following reports that a man claiming to have Covid-19 coughed and spat at Ms Mujinga and a colleague. Their investigation found no evidence that an offence had occurred at that time.”

Transport union TSSA, of which Ms Mujinga was a member, said that it had asked to see a copy of the CCTV footage of the attack, but the request was refused.

General secretary Manuel Cortes added: “We are also continuing to fight for justice for Belly. We reported the station incident to the Railway Inspectorate back in April and their investigation is ongoing.

“We also need protection for her colleagues, so many of whom are black, Asian and minority ethnic people working on the front line.

“Right across our transport networks, it’s vital that staff are protected from this virus.”

TSSA has also demanded that front-line transport workers be provided with personal protective equipment such as face masks, face shields and hand sanitiser.

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