Earlier this week London Fire Brigade asked Transport for London to remove books from all stations over safety fears, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

A book exchange at Woodside Park Station in Barnet and (inset) Sadiq Khan

Sir Sadiq Khan has intervened after Transport for London (TfL) ordered the removal of several small book exchange libraries from tube stations.

The order was given after TfL said it had been told by the London Fire Brigade [LFB] that the books posed a flammability risk.

Images of the bookshelves with signs attached to them – announcing their closure and thanking commuters for “all your support over the years” – sparked anger and incredulity from Londoners on social media.

It led the mayor to directly intervene and demand the decision be reversed. “The first I discovered there were plans to take away these very small libraries was today,” Khan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) on Thursday (13th).

“I’ve seen the difference they make, by speaking to commuters around Highbury & Islington, Oval and other parts of the network.

“TfL and LFB are responding to my request, and I’m hoping there’ll be a very swift announcement that this decision has been U-turned.”

The LFB had said earlier in the week that they were “working with TfL with regards to their responsibility to remove all book libraries from subsurface stations”.

They added: “This is due to combustible material posing a fire safety risk if it is stored on these premises. Non-subsurface stations have been asked to remove book libraries from display until they have the correct fire safety plans in place.”

The move comes as concerns have separately been raised in recent weeks over the dangers posed by e-bikes on the underground network – after a video last month showed an e-bike on fire at Rayners Lane Station.

The train drivers’ union Aslef has said it is considering balloting its members for strike action over e-bikes being allowed on the tube network.

On this, Khan told the LDRS: “I’ve seen the images from Rayners Lane, which are scary. I also know that there have been three Londoners who have lost their lives with fires in their homes caused by e-bikes, so it’s a serious issue.

“What TfL are doing, with the LFB, is a proper risk assessment, because anybody who’s seen those images will be asking the question: ‘but for the grace of god.’

“It’s really important that we take safety seriously. Safety is the number one concern of TfL, and of me, so this risk assessment will tell us what risks there are, but also, we need solutions.”

A spokesperson for Aslef said: “There can be no justification for continuing to put staff and passengers at risk by continuing to allow potentially explosive devices on London Underground trains.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.