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A London bus driver accused of locking a Jewish passenger on board and making antisemitic remarks has been charged after prosecutors reversed their original decision not to take the case to court.
Paul Lindo, 60, is accused of racially aggravated intentional harassment following an incident involving Jewish passenger David Abraham on a bus in Stamford Hill last October.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed to Jewish News that Lindo faces one charge and is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 16 November.
The decision follows a challenge to the CPS’s initial refusal to prosecute, with Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) providing legal support to Abraham through the Victim’s Right to Review scheme.
The case dates back to 27 October 2025, when Abraham, then 52, said his bank card fell into a gap beside the driver’s cabin as he boarded the number 67 bus.
He alleged that the driver refused to retrieve it and made remarks about Jewish people, including telling him he looked like a “Mossad agent” and that he “doesn’t like Jewish people”.
Abraham told Jewish News at the time that he was left locked inside the bus for around an hour before police arrived and recovered his card.
Speaking exclusively to Jewish News following the incident, he described the impact it had on him.
“I’m scared now to go in he bus… I start to panic, like, who is that driver? It affects me,” he said.
He also spoke about the pain of experiencing alleged antisemitism from another Black man.
“I was shocked to see another Black man hate me because I’m Jewish. It hurt me deeply.”
The driver was subsequently removed from public service by bus operator Arriva London while an investigation took place.
CAA welcomed the decision to bring charges but questioned why the case had initially been dropped.
A spokesperson said: “We welcome the CPS’ decision following the Victims’ Right to Review. However, it is disappointing that a review was necessary in the first place.”
The organisation said: “Harassment of visibly Jewish individuals in public spaces has become all too common, and delays in securing an appropriate judicial response risk further undermining the confidence of the Jewish community – already at record-low levels – in the ability of public institutions to protect them.”
CAA said Abraham is unable to speak to the press while criminal proceedings are ongoing.
The CPS has declined to explain why its original decision was reconsidered, citing the active court case.
Jewish News has contacted TfL and CST for comment.
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