The pair got into a row after Sir Christopher, 74, pushed past him and called him a ‘bastard’, a court heard.

The boy, then 16, lost his temper and rushed at the ex-diplomat, pushing him from behind with both hands. Sir Christopher fell to the platform and lost consciousness before being taken to hospital, where he stayed for six days, Uxbridge youth court heard.

District judge Deborah Wright said: ‘The injuries were quite clearly horrific. The assault has had a profound impact both physically and emotionally.’

Sir Christopher, a former chair of the Press Complaints Commission, may suffer permanent disfigurement, she added. Now 17, the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted causing grievous bodily harm without intent at Victoria station last July.

He was handed a 12-month intensive referral order owing to his good character and remorse, the judge said. He was also told to pay £500 in compensation.

Katie Weiss, prosecuting, said Sir Christopher had been on a Tube train from Vauxhall when it reached Victoria. ‘A witness says she saw a verbal dispute between the two, it appears that Sir Christopher nudged past the defendant calling him a “bastard”. The boy got off the train, ran towards Sir Christopher and pushed him in the back with significant force,’ she said.

The court heard the teenager stayed at the scene until police arrived. Brad Lawlor, defending, said he was ‘an educated, driven young man keen to rehabilitate himself and make right his actions’.

https://www.metro.news/teen-spared-jail-over-tube-rage-attack-on-am...