Met Police hunting down vandal who painted over Pride flags outside east London train station

The Metropolitan Police is hunting down a masked vandal that painted over three Pride flags outside an east London train station in the early hours of Friday, July 19.

The vandal, dressed in a green hooded jacket, dark tracksuit bottoms, wore a white face mask to disguise their identity while they painted over the LGBTQ+ flags outside Forest Gate station. The incident follows previous episodes in June that saw the painted flags damaged.

Police believe the incidents are linked and officers have been trawling CCTV and making house-to-house inquiries to try and track down the person responsible. However, so far no arrests have so far been made.

Detective Inspector James Rush, who is heading up the hunt for the perpetrator, appealed to the public for information.

He said: “We stand with the local LGBTQ+ community and will not tolerate these disgusting, inexcusable hate crimes in Forest Gate.

“We are committed to continuing our thorough investigation and attempting to identify the offender, who we believe is the same person who committed the damage in June at the same location.

“The Met is clear that there is no place for hate in London, and my team are already working at pace to complete all lines of inquiry.

“I want to directly address the local community in Forest Gate. Someone knows who this person is. Do the right thing, and tell police or, to remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers.”

Co-founder of Forest Gate Pride, Caron Harrison, said the local LGBTQ+ community was “appalled”, but vowed “they cannot paint over our pride”.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact police by calling 101 or via the Met Police website, quoting reference 1117/17JUL24.