On the evening of September 7, 2025, Sophia Choudry boarded an Elizabeth line train in London, expecting a routine journey from Paddington to Maidenhead. The entrepreneur and mother of two, whose family roots trace back to Pakistan, had spent her day at an event and was simply looking forward to getting home. But what unfolded on that train was anything but ordinary—and it has since sparked a national conversation about racism, public indifference, and the responsibilities of bystanders in Britain’s diverse capital.
According to reports from BBC, Metro, and Daily Mail, Choudry, 47, was subjected to a barrage of racist abuse from a group of four children, estimated to be around 13 years old. The children repeatedly shouted the P-word at her, laughing amongst themselves, while Choudry sat stunned. "I thought I heard that word and I thought that can’t be right. But they were – they were shouting that word. Nobody batted an eyelid. This was going on for a while. The kids were laughing at me. They did not care," she told Metro.
At first, Choudry tried to ignore the noise, thinking perhaps she’d misheard. But the slurs grew louder, impossible to dismiss. She removed her headphones, and the reality hit: the group was targeting her, loudly and without fear of consequence. "The laughter, the brazenness and the complete lack of respect. I looked around and nobody reacted so I knew I was on my own. I couldn't believe it was really happening," she told the Daily Mail.
Feeling isolated and increasingly unsafe, Choudry began filming the children with her phone, warning them she would report the abuse to police. The children, realizing they were being recorded, tried to shield their faces, but appeared otherwise unfazed. Choudry’s decision to document the incident would later prove critical: the video she posted has since gone viral on TikTok, amassing over two million views and tens of thousands of supportive comments.
But what shocked Choudry even more than the abuse itself was the reaction of her fellow passengers. When she pressed the emergency alarm to halt the train at Hayes & Harlington station—hoping to prevent the children from escaping—passengers groaned at the delay. Some even turned on her, with one man asking, "What did they do?" When she explained, "Oh, they were being racist," he replied, "So what?" Another added, "They’re just kids, why are you doing this?" Choudry described the moment: "I was shocked and angry about the children's reaction but the adults' reactions are what broke me and brought me to tears."
After calling police, Choudry was instructed by British Transport Police (BTP) to get off the train at Hayes & Harlington, where officers would meet her. She complied, but upon arrival, no police were present. Feeling abandoned, she reboarded the next train to Slough, where her husband picked her up. "It was awful and I felt so alone. I'd had such a lovely evening and was attacked for just being me. I just wanted to get the Tube and get home," she recounted to the Daily Mail.
The aftermath of the incident lingered. Choudry said the experience triggered memories of her childhood in Sunderland, where she was "the only brown girl in my school" and "suffered a lot of racism." She admitted feeling paranoid and afraid to use the train for days afterward, timing her next Underground journey to avoid groups of schoolchildren. "This really threw me. I was very paranoid for the whole week after, I did not want to walk past groups of schoolchildren," she told Metro. "Tuesday was the first time I went on the London Underground since the incident and I timed it so it was outside of school hours."
Choudry’s story has struck a nerve, arriving at a moment when hate crimes on London’s transport network are surging. According to the latest figures from Transport for London (TfL), reported incidents of hate crimes on the Elizabeth line increased by nearly 50% last year, and by 28% across the wider network. The BTP confirmed they had launched an investigation into the incident, initially closing the case due to a "lack of identifiable suspects," but reopening it after media inquiries and Choudry’s provision of video evidence. No arrests have been made so far.
Both BTP and TfL have publicly reiterated their zero-tolerance stance on hate crime. A BTP spokesperson stated, "We take a zero tolerance approach to hate crime and anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact BTP." TfL echoed this, saying, "We are deeply sorry that this passenger has experienced this on our network. No one should ever have to fear or experience abuse and harassment when using our network and TfL takes a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse and hate crime." They are working with BTP to "urgently investigate the circumstances."
Choudry’s decision to share her ordeal has resonated widely. Many have reached out to offer support, and some have tried to help identify the children involved. Yet, the incident has also highlighted a disturbing trend: the normalization of racist behavior, dismissed as "kids being kids" or met with a shrug. Choudry is adamant that this attitude must change. "We can't keep dismissing it as kids being kids because every time we do, we give it permission to grow," she told the Daily Mail. "They're not just kids – they're the future. I just hope that parents are bringing up their children to treat everyone equally with respect regardless of colour."
Reflecting on the broader societal context, Choudry noted a shift in the atmosphere in Britain. She described feeling uneasy when St George flags and Union Jacks appeared in her neighborhood, a subtle reminder that, for some, national identity is being wielded in exclusionary ways. "As soon as those flags went up, something changed in the wind, something didn't feel right. I'm a very positive person, I don't go looking for trouble. There's a shift now. If I see a group of children now, I'll cross the road. I just don't want the trouble," she told the BBC.
Despite her trauma, Choudry remains determined to focus on the positive responses she’s received. "I want to focus on the 95% [of people] who are showing love and support because if I don't focus on them I'll never leave the house again," she said. Still, she admits, "I've got a feeling that every person of colour has had this feeling."
Choudry’s viral video and candid interviews have forced a reckoning not just with the actions of a few children, but with a society that too often looks the other way. As she put it, "If racism is excused, it doesn't disappear, it's passed on to the next generation." The hope now is that her story will inspire more people to stand up, speak out, and refuse to let such abuse go unchecked—on trains, in schools, and across the streets of London.
