Man arrested for hitting London student in the face with a plate at Nando’s

A man has been arrested after hitting a student in the face with a plate at Nando’s.

The incident occurred last year in Stratford after a man complained about a highchair to the student who was working in the restaurant.

The Met Police has now apologised for the initial response by officers and said the case was not “progressed promptly”.

The student, Zahra, told the BBC that she had received an apology by the Metropolitan Police after footage went viral on social media last year showing the incident.

Zahra explained to the BBC that she felt “shocked” and “couldn’t register what happened” after being assaulted.

She said that she thought she “would be safe” due to the presence of two officers in the restaurant, “and that the police officers would deal with him, but that wasn’t the case”, as when alerted, a female officer “didn’t seem bothered” about the attack.

Zahra alleged that a male officer took the man outside but did not take a statement, any details or check the CCTV and that the female officer was “laughing and joking” with the woman and playing with the baby who accompanied the man.

Zahra said that she felt “really disappointed and extremely upset by that”.

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Speaking on TikTok in a video with over 400,000 likes, Zahra told followers that “more concerning than the man’s behaviour was the failure of the Metropolitan Police” and that she was “grossly let down by them”.

In a statement last August, the Met Police said: “A report of assault was made to police at time of the incident, however, it appears it was not progressed promptly by officers. We are working to establish why this happened and accept this is not the level of service Londoners should rightfully expect from the Met.

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“We have since made contact with the victim and a statement has been taken- we will endeavour to keep her updated with the progress of this investigation.”

However, on Saturday the Met Police confirmed there had been an arrest, telling The London Tab: “A man has been arrested in connection with an incident where a waitress was assaulted at a Nandos restaurant in Stratford in March 2024.

“A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault in Stratford on Thursday, 30 January. He was taken into police custody and has been bailed until a date in mid-March pending further enquiries.

“An investigation into the incident remains ongoing. Anyone with information that could assist is asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote CAD 1872/21Aug.”

A spokesperson for Nando’s told the BBC: “This was a shocking and unprovoked attack earlier this year.

“We reported it to the police immediately and have supported our colleague since.

“We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour, the safety of our colleagues and customers is our priority.”

Featured image via YouTube