A British man guilty of pushing a pensioner on a railway


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A former boss of Eurotunnel sobbed in court while the man who had pushed him on the rails of the London Underground had been found guilty of attempted murder.

Robert Malpas, 91, said he felt "flying" back at the Marble Arch station after Paul Crossley, 46, pushed him from behind with both hands.

CCTV footage of the attack was smothered by the Old Bailey courthouse public gallery when it first aired.

Riyadh, a heroic passenger, Riyad El Hussani, rescued Mr. Malpas. He jumped out of the platform to save him while the electronic arrivals board allowed him to show a minute before the next train.


Warning: Some viewers may find this sequence painful


The retired industrialist was found with a pelvic fracture and a nick to the head requiring 12 stitches after the April 27 attack.

Tobias French, a second subway passenger, managed to keep his balance when he had been pushed earlier by Crossley while a train was arriving at Tottenham Court Road station.

Crossley told the jurors that his victims had been chosen at random, but claimed that he had no plans to kill them.

But he was convicted of two counts of attempted murder today.

Judge Nicholas Hilliard, QC, of ​​The Recorder of London, adjourned sentencing for the reports.

Mr. Malpas, sitting in the public gallery with his arms crossed, showed no emotion at the reading of the verdict.

But he cried after the jury left the court.

Attorney Benjamin Aina QC said Mr. Malpas was "very badly caught" after the attack, but added, "Fortunately, he has recovered, he is able to walk and go about his normal business."

He said that Tobias French practiced a professional sport, which allowed him to keep his balance.

The judge said: "Mr. El Hussani has shown incredible bravery and has been totally ridiculed of his own safety to save Sir Robert, and he must obviously be commended for that."

In a statement read to jurors during the trial, Mr. Malpas said that he had gone to a pensioners' luncheon in central London before heading to Oxford Circus on the central line.

The CCTV footage shows him walking along the platform, wearing a brown raincoat, a suit and a tie, and carrying an umbrella.

He is then approached from behind by Crossley, who has a hood over his cap, before being sent to the track.

"As I was walking on the platform, I felt pushed behind my back with both hands," Malpas said.

"I felt flying over the tracks and landing on the rails, maybe I had a concussion but very little time, and I hit my head against the rails."

He was saved by the French teacher Mr. El Hussani, who had just finished his work at the Mayfair Dorchester Hotel.

He stated that he heard "screams and cries" before running 20 meters from where Mr. Malpas was lying with his clothes and his umbrella covered in blood.

"I then jumped directly on the tracks to save his life," he said in a statement released on the day of the incident.

"I'm still shocked by what happened, and I'm sad because I could have lost my life twice.

"I was afraid that by being on the tracks, I could have been electrocuted and then hit by a train."

Mr. El Hussani was burned with his right hand after touching the electrified rail.

Mr. French recounted his own escape, having been pushed by Crossley while he was waiting for a train earlier the same day.

"I remember thinking that I was very lucky to be alive," he said.

"There was a train coming in my direction at that time and if I had pushed ahead, I'm sure I would have been killed."

"I was fortunate to be able to defend myself quickly with the help of a member of the public."

Crossley, who lived in a homeless shelter in East London, was prosecuted and arrested by members of the public after pushing Mr. Malpas.

He told them: "This is not correct, I know it's wrong," before explaining to the police: "I did not sleep much last night."

Crossley, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at the age of 17, admitted that he was the man wearing a hood and a hood taking CCTV and jostling both men.

He told the jurors that he had cracked the night before and that he had begun to feel paranoid while he was heading to the West End for coffee.

Crossley asserted that he had wanted to "scare" Mr. French, who "had looked at me a bit funny," and stated that he had a panic attack when he was attacking Mr. Malpas, with the intention of "knocking him down".

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