On 10th July 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) discontinued all charges imposed on Selma Taha, Divina Riggon and Danae Thomas - the #KingsCross3. The CPS attributed this to lack of evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction. Speaking outside Highbury Magistrates’ Court on the 10th, the defence barrister Rajiv Menon KC asserted that it’s an outrage for such a case to have been pursued for prosecution in the first place in today’s day and age.

In September 2023, Selma Taha, Executive Director of Southall Black Sisters (SBS), and her friends Divina Riggon and Danae Thomas were verbally and physically assaulted in a racist incident on London public transport. The assailant, a white woman, made monkey sounds and called Selma, Divina and Danae “Black bitches”, and “slaves”. The abuse escalated into physical violence. The attacker pulled clumps of hair off Selma and her friend and bit Selma’s flesh, leaving a deeply embedded imprint of her teeth which necessitated tetanus and hepatitis injections and antibiotics.

An off-duty Metropolitan Detective Constable was present in the tube carriage but failed to intervene to de-escalate the incident. When the train arrived at King’s Cross station, the three women had to challenge the inactivity and apathy of the police to treat the matter seriously and arrest the assailant.

Some months later, in a deeply shocking development, the CPS made the following charging decisions:

• No further action is to be taken against the assailant in relation to the assault. In relation to the assailant’s racist abuse, she has been offered and accepted a caution for racially aggravated conduct contrary to s4A of the Public Order Act, in relation to one instance of racist abuse which she has admitted. No further action is to be taken in relation to other instances of racist abuse by her during the incident.
• Selma, Divina and Danae were all charged with common assault by beating.
• Danae had also been charged with a racially aggravated public order offence, in relation to alleged conduct towards a white British Transport police officer on the platform at King's Cross.
• Divina had also been charged with a public order offence, but without the racial aggravation, again in relation to alleged conduct towards the same police officer at the tube station after the attack.

In a highly unusual move, the CPS also made applications for special measures for screens and reporting restrictions for anonymity for the police officers involved prior to the trial, which were rightfully denied.

On 2nd July 2024, the CPS partially dropped the racist charges against the #KingsCross3 due to lack of evidence. These being:

• The racially aggravated public order offence charge against Danae, in relation to alleged conduct towards a white British Transport Police (BTP) officer on the platform at King’s Cross.
• The public order offence charge, without the racial aggravation, against Divina, again in relation to alleged conduct towards the same BTP officer at the tube station after the attack. 

Until the date of the trial, the CPS intended to pursue prosecution against Selma, Divina and Danae in relation to the charge of common assault by beating. Finally, on the first day of the trial, 10th July 2024, the CPS dropped this charge too due to lack of evidence.

While the discontinuance of the racist charges on the #KingsCross3 should be celebrated, this case has demonstrated the depth of the issue of Black women being disbelieved and criminalised when they resist abuse. At a time of crisis for Black women with data showing Black femicide and other forms of abuse reaching calamitous figures, this case and the treatment of the three Black women involved should send alarm bells ringing. This case highlights the urgent need to demand accountability from the police and criminal justice system in instances of violence against women and girls (VAWG). As a first step, the Met police must accept the findings of institutional racism and misogyny in the Casey Report. The treatment of the #KingsCross3 displays how woefully public institutions are failing to protect victim-survivors and underlines the need to ensure that no victim-survivor gets left behind.

We intend to continue resisting and challenging structural inequalities through our work as we have done for decades. 

As the #KingsCross3 demand a public apology from the Met police, BTP and the CPS, and contemplate their next steps including options for civil remedies, we urge you to continue supporting their quest for justice. We will continue to share updates here, as also through SBS’ social media platforms and website.

Sign our petition to support the #KingsCross3’s continued quest for justice.

We are continuing to raise funds as we prepare for the next phase of the campaign. 

Given that we operate in the underfunded VAWG sector, your financial support will be invaluable.

Please donate whatever you can to fight the manifest injustice the #KingsCross3 were subjected to and continue to be traumatised by. For further details, please visit GoFundMe.