Man jailed for 16 months for London Bridge Station bomb hoax

After the incident that led to 500 rush hour trains being cancelled or delayed, British Transport Police charged Shiraj Niranjan Jayasuriya of White City with making a bomb hoax.

On Thursday 11 September, Jayasuriya activated the emergency alarm on a train approaching London Bridge Station. His actions caused widespread disruption to the station and to thousands of rail passengers.

This week Blackfriars Crown Court heard that Jayasuriya had been abusive to other passengers before he pulled the emergency lever at approximately 6.20pm.

Jayasuriya was later abusive to a member of rail staff who tried to reset the alarms in order to move the train, saying there were "bombs everywhere".

After an exchange with BTP officers in which Jayasuriya said he had a bomb, he was arrested by armed police. He pleaded guilty to making a bomb hoax.

In custody, Jayasuriya told officers he wanted "London destroyed".

Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden said: "We take all threats seriously and today's sentencing shows that we will prosecute people who threaten our transport network.

"There were widespread disruptions to the station and to thousands of passengers on the day and I welcome the sentence handed down."