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| Virgin Trains East Coast 'sorry' for Louis Smith check | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Virgin Trains East Coast has apologised to Olympic gymnast Louis Smith after he claimed staff only checked the tickets of black people in a first-class carriage. | |
| Smith, who was the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing champion in 2012, tweeted about the incident on Thursday evening. | |
| He said only he and one other black passenger in the carriage were asked to show their tickets. | |
| The company apologised and said it would be investigating. | |
| Smith, who grew up in Peterborough and trained in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, documented the incident on his Twitter account as it was happening on a train from Peterborough to London King's Cross. | Smith, who grew up in Peterborough and trained in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, documented the incident on his Twitter account as it was happening on a train from Peterborough to London King's Cross. |
| He described it as an "interesting and political" journey when he began tweeting shortly after 17:45 BST. | He described it as an "interesting and political" journey when he began tweeting shortly after 17:45 BST. |
| Smith said the member of staff serving refreshments in the first class compartment only asked two people to show their tickets - himself and one other black passenger. | Smith said the member of staff serving refreshments in the first class compartment only asked two people to show their tickets - himself and one other black passenger. |
| None of the white passengers were asked to prove they had tickets for the carriage, he said. | None of the white passengers were asked to prove they had tickets for the carriage, he said. |
| You may also like: | You may also like: |
| When the fellow black passenger was asked by the staff member to show his ticket, Smith wrote: "...he then asks if I have a 1st class ticket I said yes. He said can I see it I said yes but don't you believe me." | When the fellow black passenger was asked by the staff member to show his ticket, Smith wrote: "...he then asks if I have a 1st class ticket I said yes. He said can I see it I said yes but don't you believe me." |
| He said the waiter's actions had been noticed by a passenger who questioned the staff member about "why he's only asked the only two black passengers if they are meant to be in first class and to prove it". | He said the waiter's actions had been noticed by a passenger who questioned the staff member about "why he's only asked the only two black passengers if they are meant to be in first class and to prove it". |
| Smith, who won the silver medal on the pommel horse at London 2012, went on to ask his 255,000 Twitter followers whether this was "just a coincidence or not". | Smith, who won the silver medal on the pommel horse at London 2012, went on to ask his 255,000 Twitter followers whether this was "just a coincidence or not". |
| He said the passenger who queried the waiter's actions asked a senior member of staff on the train about it, who apologised, but said the waiter was allowed to ask about tickets if people were seated in first class. | He said the passenger who queried the waiter's actions asked a senior member of staff on the train about it, who apologised, but said the waiter was allowed to ask about tickets if people were seated in first class. |
| Virgin Trains East Coast quickly apologised to the Olympian on Twitter, offering its "sincerest apologies" and saying the incident would be investigated. | Virgin Trains East Coast quickly apologised to the Olympian on Twitter, offering its "sincerest apologies" and saying the incident would be investigated. |
| A spokesman for the company told the BBC: "We're extremely sorry for the experience of Louis and fellow passengers. | A spokesman for the company told the BBC: "We're extremely sorry for the experience of Louis and fellow passengers. |
| "We are looking into the incident as a matter of urgency." | "We are looking into the incident as a matter of urgency." |