Tube hijab attack investigated as hate crime

Police are investigating a suspected hate crime after a man tried to pull off a Muslim woman's hijab at a Tube station and spat at her friend.

Aniso Abdulkadir was waiting for a train at Baker Street on Friday night when she was set upon.

She later tweeted a picture of her alleged attacker and urged others to share the image.

British Transport Police confirmed the incident was being investigated.

Ms Abdulkadi tweeted: "This man at Baker Street station forcefully attempted to pull my hijab off and when I instinctively grabbed hold of my scarf he hit me."

She added: "He proceeded to verbally abuse my friends and I, pinning one of them against the wall and spitting in her face."

Her post has so far been retweeted by more than 24,000 times.

A British Transport Police spokesman said it was being investigated as a hate crime, adding: "Behaviour like this is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

"This incident has been reported to us and we're investigating."