Women 'attacked for wearing hijabs' in London suffer possible broken ribs and internal bleeding

Pair, one in their 60s the other in their 30s, abused about garments before being physically attacked

Police have released an image of a woman they would like to speak to over a racially aggravated assault that left one victim with potentially broken ribs and a second with internal bleeding.

The two women were attacked at around 5.30pm on 23 August as they passed through North Ealing underground station in west London

British Transport Police (BTP) said the women, one in her 60s and another in her 30s, suffered verbal abuse for wearing the veil commonly worn by Muslim women.

Shortly afterwards they were physically assaulted, leaving the elder of the two with potentially broken ribs and the younger victim with a black eye, bruising and internal bleeding.

Officers have since released an image caught on CCTV of a woman they would like to speak to in connection with the investigation.

Hate crime in the capital has steadily increased in the last decade, with 1,323 cases of Islamophobic hate crime reported across the city from July 2018 to 2019, compared to 350 in 2010.

In total, more than 5,680 cases of religious hate crime were reported across the UK from 2017 to 2018, with 52% of those relating to crimes against Muslims that were motivated by the victim’s faith.

Officers have urged anyone with information to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 and quoting reference number 442 of 23/08/19.