Ask for Angela: Staff had no clue, says pub worker

A pub idiosyncratic has warned failures successful the Ask for Angela information strategy are putting susceptible women astatine risk, aft a BBC undercover probe recovered much than fractional of participating venues failed to respond properly.

The Ask for Angela initiative, a task successful spot astatine thousands of venues nationwide, aims to supply a discreet lifeline for radical who judge they are successful danger.

A barroom employee, who the BBC is naming lone arsenic "Jack", worked successful 3 antithetic venues moving the strategy from 2018 to 2024. He told the BBC astir failures successful implementation.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called the BBC's findings "shocking and unacceptable" and a authorities spokesperson said they were "deeply concerning".

The strategy enables radical to awesome for assistance astatine the barroom by utilizing the codification connection "Angela".

While aimed chiefly astatine women, it tin beryllium utilized by anyone feeling unsafe astatine a participating establishment.

Jack said that portion venues would initially little unit astir Ask for Angela erstwhile putting up posters, the grooming would often not beryllium passed connected to caller employees.

"I recovered that they would enactment the posters up and things similar that, but determination wasn't truly immoderate capable grooming connected antithetic scenarios that could person happened," helium told BBC London.

"Some radical weren't adjacent alert that we were moving it, truthful if idiosyncratic would inquire astir Angela, past they wouldn't truly person a hint astir what's going on."

Jack said this deficiency of accordant grooming enactment susceptible women astatine risk.

"It could origin an adjacent bigger contented then, if thing looks funny," helium said.

"If there's a perpetrator making a pistillate consciousness uncomfortable erstwhile she's spending extended clip up astatine the barroom asking unit - it could enactment her successful a much susceptible position."

He said helium believed galore venues were "just ticking boxes" alternatively than taking their responsibilities seriously.

"It's benignant of futile successful a way, it's pointless," helium added.

The BBC secretly recorded 25 pubs, bars and clubs in London that actively promoted their engagement successful the Ask for Angela initiative, including branches of large pub chains arsenic good arsenic autarkic venues.

In total, 13 of the 25 venues visited failed to respond appropriately to the Angela codification word.

Similar failures person been reported crossed different parts of the UK.

Greene King said it was acrophobic astir the BBC's findings and pledged to reappraisal however the strategy was communicated to its teams.

JD Wetherspoon said it had successfully dealt with galore examples of distressed customers utilizing the strategy but would supply further grooming if necessary.

The BBC repeatedly requested an interrogation with curate for women Jess Phillips to sermon the investigation's findings, but her bureau declined.

A authorities spokesperson said the findings were "deeply concerning" but noted Ask for Angela "is not a government-led scheme".

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of payer wealth has been spent promoting Ask for Angela by police, section councils and the politician of London's office.

Westminster City Council made information a cardinal origin erstwhile deciding to assistance intoxicant licenses.

Sylvia Oates, manager of Ask for Angela, said it was a "real concern" that the strategy was not palmy successful premises advertizing it.

The strategy was named aft Angela Crompton, who was murdered by her husband.

The information inaugural has dispersed to countries astir the world, including Canada and the Netherlands.