This is the moment an NHS dentist who was told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger shot back his own barb with the words: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
The travellers entered into a row about their feet touching each other under a table on the 11.13am train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly.
A three-minute clip showed them arguing about the comment, with the man telling her she was being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘racist’ and the woman asking him to stop shouting.
The woman said she would be happy for him to show the video to police, but he later filmed her being walked along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station accompanied by an officer.
The man filming the video told MailOnline he is an NHS dentist called Mero who was travelling to Manchester for work when the incident happened.
MailOnline also understands the man did not want to support a prosecution when speaking to officers after the incident on Monday, and no arrests have been made.
He started videoing the exchange – which has since been viewed 2.2million times on the @therealdrmero TikTok account – as she said: ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia.’
The man asked her: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here.’ He then adds: ‘Were you born here?’
An NHS dentist named Mero was allegedly told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger – before he shot back his own barb and told the woman: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
She refused to answer, but then asked him the same question.
When he said ‘yes, I was born here’, she replied: ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’ But he replied: ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
She said: ‘Serves you right.’ The man responded: ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?’ But she said: ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
When the man again asked the woman ‘were you born here?’, she replied: ‘Don’t shout at me.’
But he said: ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said.
”Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
The woman then said: ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’ But the man replied: ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
The woman then added: ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
The woman was filmed telling a man sat opposite her to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ during an Avanti West Coast train journey from London Euston to Manchester Picadilly
The woman accused the man of being rude after an apparent row about legs under the table
The man filmed the woman in a video which has been viewed two million times on TikTok
The man said: ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’ But the woman declined to apologise and instead said: ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
He encouraged her to do so, saying: ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying “go back to your country”.
‘Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
The woman said: ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
But the man told her: ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that.
‘Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
The woman said she was ‘not going to be spoken to in that way’. However, the man continued: ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy.
‘You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.
The woman is pictured with a police officer at Stoke-on-Trent railway station
The woman is seen walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase
‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’ The woman then said: ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
But the man insisted: ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
The woman added: ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’ And the man said: ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
He then accused her of ‘gaslighting’, adding: ‘You said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
It was at this point that the voice of a second woman could be heard, saying: ‘Is she alright there?’ The man told her: ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
And the second woman was heard saying: ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’ The man then repeated this, saying: ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
But the first woman told him: ‘You were the one who was rude to me.’
Then, the man said: ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you.
The woman left the train at Stoke-on-Trent railway station in Staffordshire (file picture)
The incident happened on an Avanti West Coast train from London to Manchester (file picture)
‘And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
The woman continued: ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’ And when the man said he had ‘got it on recording’, the woman said: ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on.’
The man insisted he would ‘show it to the staff here’, and the woman told him: ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
But he said to her: ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’ She then told him: ‘Don’t kick me.’ But he replied: ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
She however continued: ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’ However, the man said: ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
A second video posted on TikTok then showed the woman walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase alongside a police officer.
A member of platform staff signalled for the train to leave, and the words ‘See it, Say it, Sorted’ were heard – the British Transport Police (BTP) campaign which asks people to be report unusual behaviour or items or public transport.
A British Transport Police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Officers received a text report to 61016 at about 11.45am on February 3 concerning racial abuse on a train from Euston to Manchester.
‘Officers met the train at Stoke railway station and identified people in connection. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
‘Anyone who can assist is asked to contact British Transport Police by either calling 0800 40 50 40 or texting 61016. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111. Please quote reference number 248 of 3 February 2025.’
Avanti West Coast has not commented.
Full transcript of racism row on Avanti West Coast train
- Man – ‘What did you say?’
- Woman – ‘Go back to Morocco…’
- Man – ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia?
- Woman – ‘Yeah, or Tunisia.’
- Man: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here. Were you born here?’
- Woman – ‘Were you?
- Man – ‘Yes I was born here.’
- Woman – ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’
- Man – ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
- Woman – ‘Serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Are you British yourself?
- Woman – ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
- Man – ‘Were you born here?
- Woman – ‘Don’t shout at me.’
- Man – ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said. ‘Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
- Woman – ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’
- Man – ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
- Woman – ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’
- Woman – ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
- Man – ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying ‘go back to your country’. Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
- Woman – ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
- Man – ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that. Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
- Woman – ‘Sorry, I’m not going to be spoken to in that way.’
- Man – ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy. You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.’
- Woman – ‘Well I’m sorry but, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but you’ve got no right…’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
- Man – ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’
- Man – ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘You’re the only one who’s shouting.’
- Man – ‘You do not tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’.’
- Woman – ‘I’m not shouting – you’re the one who’s shouting to me.’
- Man – ‘And now you’re gaslighting – you said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
- Second woman – ‘Is she alright there?’
- Man – ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
- Second woman – ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’
- Man – ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
- Woman – ‘But listen, you were the one who was rude to me.’
- Man – ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you. And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’
- Man – ‘I’ve got it on recording.’
- Woman – ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on. ‘
- Man – ‘I will, I will, OK, I’ll show it to the staff here’
- Woman – ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’
- Woman – ‘Don’t kick me.’
- Man – ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
- Woman – ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’
- Man – ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Cool, cool, then I’ll do the same thing. Don’t ever disrespect me.’
This is the moment an NHS dentist who was told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger shot back his own barb with the words: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
The travellers entered into a row about their feet touching each other under a table on the 11.13am train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly.
A three-minute clip showed them arguing about the comment, with the man telling her she was being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘racist’ and the woman asking him to stop shouting.
The woman said she would be happy for him to show the video to police, but he later filmed her being walked along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station accompanied by an officer.
The man filming the video told MailOnline he is an NHS dentist called Mero who was travelling to Manchester for work when the incident happened.
MailOnline also understands the man did not want to support a prosecution when speaking to officers after the incident on Monday, and no arrests have been made.
He started videoing the exchange – which has since been viewed 2.2million times on the @therealdrmero TikTok account – as she said: ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia.’
The man asked her: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here.’ He then adds: ‘Were you born here?’
An NHS dentist named Mero was allegedly told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger – before he shot back his own barb and told the woman: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
She refused to answer, but then asked him the same question.
When he said ‘yes, I was born here’, she replied: ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’ But he replied: ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
She said: ‘Serves you right.’ The man responded: ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?’ But she said: ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
When the man again asked the woman ‘were you born here?’, she replied: ‘Don’t shout at me.’
But he said: ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said.
”Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
The woman then said: ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’ But the man replied: ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
The woman then added: ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
The woman was filmed telling a man sat opposite her to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ during an Avanti West Coast train journey from London Euston to Manchester Picadilly
The woman accused the man of being rude after an apparent row about legs under the table
The man filmed the woman in a video which has been viewed two million times on TikTok
The man said: ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’ But the woman declined to apologise and instead said: ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
He encouraged her to do so, saying: ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying “go back to your country”.
‘Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
The woman said: ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
But the man told her: ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that.
‘Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
The woman said she was ‘not going to be spoken to in that way’. However, the man continued: ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy.
‘You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.
The woman is pictured with a police officer at Stoke-on-Trent railway station
The woman is seen walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase
‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’ The woman then said: ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
But the man insisted: ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
The woman added: ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’ And the man said: ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
He then accused her of ‘gaslighting’, adding: ‘You said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
It was at this point that the voice of a second woman could be heard, saying: ‘Is she alright there?’ The man told her: ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
And the second woman was heard saying: ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’ The man then repeated this, saying: ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
But the first woman told him: ‘You were the one who was rude to me.’
Then, the man said: ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you.
The woman left the train at Stoke-on-Trent railway station in Staffordshire (file picture)
The incident happened on an Avanti West Coast train from London to Manchester (file picture)
‘And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
The woman continued: ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’ And when the man said he had ‘got it on recording’, the woman said: ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on.’
The man insisted he would ‘show it to the staff here’, and the woman told him: ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
But he said to her: ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’ She then told him: ‘Don’t kick me.’ But he replied: ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
She however continued: ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’ However, the man said: ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
A second video posted on TikTok then showed the woman walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase alongside a police officer.
A member of platform staff signalled for the train to leave, and the words ‘See it, Say it, Sorted’ were heard – the British Transport Police (BTP) campaign which asks people to be report unusual behaviour or items or public transport.
A British Transport Police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Officers received a text report to 61016 at about 11.45am on February 3 concerning racial abuse on a train from Euston to Manchester.
‘Officers met the train at Stoke railway station and identified people in connection. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
‘Anyone who can assist is asked to contact British Transport Police by either calling 0800 40 50 40 or texting 61016. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111. Please quote reference number 248 of 3 February 2025.’
Avanti West Coast has not commented.
Full transcript of racism row on Avanti West Coast train
- Man – ‘What did you say?’
- Woman – ‘Go back to Morocco…’
- Man – ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia?
- Woman – ‘Yeah, or Tunisia.’
- Man: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here. Were you born here?’
- Woman – ‘Were you?
- Man – ‘Yes I was born here.’
- Woman – ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’
- Man – ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
- Woman – ‘Serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Are you British yourself?
- Woman – ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
- Man – ‘Were you born here?
- Woman – ‘Don’t shout at me.’
- Man – ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said. ‘Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
- Woman – ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’
- Man – ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
- Woman – ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’
- Woman – ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
- Man – ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying ‘go back to your country’. Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
- Woman – ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
- Man – ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that. Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
- Woman – ‘Sorry, I’m not going to be spoken to in that way.’
- Man – ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy. You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.’
- Woman – ‘Well I’m sorry but, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but you’ve got no right…’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
- Man – ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’
- Man – ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘You’re the only one who’s shouting.’
- Man – ‘You do not tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’.’
- Woman – ‘I’m not shouting – you’re the one who’s shouting to me.’
- Man – ‘And now you’re gaslighting – you said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
- Second woman – ‘Is she alright there?’
- Man – ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
- Second woman – ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’
- Man – ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
- Woman – ‘But listen, you were the one who was rude to me.’
- Man – ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you. And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’
- Man – ‘I’ve got it on recording.’
- Woman – ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on. ‘
- Man – ‘I will, I will, OK, I’ll show it to the staff here’
- Woman – ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’
- Woman – ‘Don’t kick me.’
- Man – ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
- Woman – ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’
- Man – ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Cool, cool, then I’ll do the same thing. Don’t ever disrespect me.’
This is the moment an NHS dentist who was told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger shot back his own barb with the words: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
The travellers entered into a row about their feet touching each other under a table on the 11.13am train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly.
A three-minute clip showed them arguing about the comment, with the man telling her she was being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘racist’ and the woman asking him to stop shouting.
The woman said she would be happy for him to show the video to police, but he later filmed her being walked along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station accompanied by an officer.
The man filming the video told MailOnline he is an NHS dentist called Mero who was travelling to Manchester for work when the incident happened.
MailOnline also understands the man did not want to support a prosecution when speaking to officers after the incident on Monday, and no arrests have been made.
He started videoing the exchange – which has since been viewed 2.2million times on the @therealdrmero TikTok account – as she said: ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia.’
The man asked her: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here.’ He then adds: ‘Were you born here?’
An NHS dentist named Mero was allegedly told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger – before he shot back his own barb and told the woman: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
She refused to answer, but then asked him the same question.
When he said ‘yes, I was born here’, she replied: ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’ But he replied: ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
She said: ‘Serves you right.’ The man responded: ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?’ But she said: ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
When the man again asked the woman ‘were you born here?’, she replied: ‘Don’t shout at me.’
But he said: ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said.
”Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
The woman then said: ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’ But the man replied: ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
The woman then added: ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
The woman was filmed telling a man sat opposite her to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ during an Avanti West Coast train journey from London Euston to Manchester Picadilly
The woman accused the man of being rude after an apparent row about legs under the table
The man filmed the woman in a video which has been viewed two million times on TikTok
The man said: ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’ But the woman declined to apologise and instead said: ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
He encouraged her to do so, saying: ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying “go back to your country”.
‘Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
The woman said: ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
But the man told her: ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that.
‘Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
The woman said she was ‘not going to be spoken to in that way’. However, the man continued: ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy.
‘You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.
The woman is pictured with a police officer at Stoke-on-Trent railway station
The woman is seen walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase
‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’ The woman then said: ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
But the man insisted: ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
The woman added: ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’ And the man said: ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
He then accused her of ‘gaslighting’, adding: ‘You said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
It was at this point that the voice of a second woman could be heard, saying: ‘Is she alright there?’ The man told her: ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
And the second woman was heard saying: ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’ The man then repeated this, saying: ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
But the first woman told him: ‘You were the one who was rude to me.’
Then, the man said: ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you.
The woman left the train at Stoke-on-Trent railway station in Staffordshire (file picture)
The incident happened on an Avanti West Coast train from London to Manchester (file picture)
‘And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
The woman continued: ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’ And when the man said he had ‘got it on recording’, the woman said: ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on.’
The man insisted he would ‘show it to the staff here’, and the woman told him: ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
But he said to her: ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’ She then told him: ‘Don’t kick me.’ But he replied: ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
She however continued: ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’ However, the man said: ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
A second video posted on TikTok then showed the woman walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase alongside a police officer.
A member of platform staff signalled for the train to leave, and the words ‘See it, Say it, Sorted’ were heard – the British Transport Police (BTP) campaign which asks people to be report unusual behaviour or items or public transport.
A British Transport Police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Officers received a text report to 61016 at about 11.45am on February 3 concerning racial abuse on a train from Euston to Manchester.
‘Officers met the train at Stoke railway station and identified people in connection. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
‘Anyone who can assist is asked to contact British Transport Police by either calling 0800 40 50 40 or texting 61016. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111. Please quote reference number 248 of 3 February 2025.’
Avanti West Coast has not commented.
Full transcript of racism row on Avanti West Coast train
- Man – ‘What did you say?’
- Woman – ‘Go back to Morocco…’
- Man – ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia?
- Woman – ‘Yeah, or Tunisia.’
- Man: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here. Were you born here?’
- Woman – ‘Were you?
- Man – ‘Yes I was born here.’
- Woman – ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’
- Man – ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
- Woman – ‘Serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Are you British yourself?
- Woman – ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
- Man – ‘Were you born here?
- Woman – ‘Don’t shout at me.’
- Man – ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said. ‘Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
- Woman – ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’
- Man – ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
- Woman – ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’
- Woman – ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
- Man – ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying ‘go back to your country’. Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
- Woman – ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
- Man – ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that. Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
- Woman – ‘Sorry, I’m not going to be spoken to in that way.’
- Man – ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy. You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.’
- Woman – ‘Well I’m sorry but, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but you’ve got no right…’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
- Man – ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’
- Man – ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘You’re the only one who’s shouting.’
- Man – ‘You do not tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’.’
- Woman – ‘I’m not shouting – you’re the one who’s shouting to me.’
- Man – ‘And now you’re gaslighting – you said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
- Second woman – ‘Is she alright there?’
- Man – ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
- Second woman – ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’
- Man – ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
- Woman – ‘But listen, you were the one who was rude to me.’
- Man – ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you. And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’
- Man – ‘I’ve got it on recording.’
- Woman – ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on. ‘
- Man – ‘I will, I will, OK, I’ll show it to the staff here’
- Woman – ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’
- Woman – ‘Don’t kick me.’
- Man – ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
- Woman – ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’
- Man – ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Cool, cool, then I’ll do the same thing. Don’t ever disrespect me.’
This is the moment an NHS dentist who was told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger shot back his own barb with the words: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
The travellers entered into a row about their feet touching each other under a table on the 11.13am train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly.
A three-minute clip showed them arguing about the comment, with the man telling her she was being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘racist’ and the woman asking him to stop shouting.
The woman said she would be happy for him to show the video to police, but he later filmed her being walked along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station accompanied by an officer.
The man filming the video told MailOnline he is an NHS dentist called Mero who was travelling to Manchester for work when the incident happened.
MailOnline also understands the man did not want to support a prosecution when speaking to officers after the incident on Monday, and no arrests have been made.
He started videoing the exchange – which has since been viewed 2.2million times on the @therealdrmero TikTok account – as she said: ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia.’
The man asked her: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here.’ He then adds: ‘Were you born here?’
An NHS dentist named Mero was allegedly told to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ by a ‘racist’ train passenger – before he shot back his own barb and told the woman: ‘You probably weren’t even born here!’
She refused to answer, but then asked him the same question.
When he said ‘yes, I was born here’, she replied: ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’ But he replied: ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
She said: ‘Serves you right.’ The man responded: ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?’ But she said: ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
When the man again asked the woman ‘were you born here?’, she replied: ‘Don’t shout at me.’
But he said: ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said.
”Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
The woman then said: ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’ But the man replied: ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
The woman then added: ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
The woman was filmed telling a man sat opposite her to ‘go back to Morocco or Tunisia’ during an Avanti West Coast train journey from London Euston to Manchester Picadilly
The woman accused the man of being rude after an apparent row about legs under the table
The man filmed the woman in a video which has been viewed two million times on TikTok
The man said: ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’ But the woman declined to apologise and instead said: ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
He encouraged her to do so, saying: ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying “go back to your country”.
‘Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
The woman said: ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
But the man told her: ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that.
‘Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
The woman said she was ‘not going to be spoken to in that way’. However, the man continued: ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy.
‘You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.
The woman is pictured with a police officer at Stoke-on-Trent railway station
The woman is seen walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase
‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’ The woman then said: ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
But the man insisted: ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
The woman added: ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’ And the man said: ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
He then accused her of ‘gaslighting’, adding: ‘You said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
It was at this point that the voice of a second woman could be heard, saying: ‘Is she alright there?’ The man told her: ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
And the second woman was heard saying: ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’ The man then repeated this, saying: ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
But the first woman told him: ‘You were the one who was rude to me.’
Then, the man said: ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you.
The woman left the train at Stoke-on-Trent railway station in Staffordshire (file picture)
The incident happened on an Avanti West Coast train from London to Manchester (file picture)
‘And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
The woman continued: ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’ And when the man said he had ‘got it on recording’, the woman said: ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on.’
The man insisted he would ‘show it to the staff here’, and the woman told him: ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
But he said to her: ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’ She then told him: ‘Don’t kick me.’ But he replied: ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
She however continued: ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’ However, the man said: ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
A second video posted on TikTok then showed the woman walking along the platform at Stoke-on-Trent station with her suitcase alongside a police officer.
A member of platform staff signalled for the train to leave, and the words ‘See it, Say it, Sorted’ were heard – the British Transport Police (BTP) campaign which asks people to be report unusual behaviour or items or public transport.
A British Transport Police spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Officers received a text report to 61016 at about 11.45am on February 3 concerning racial abuse on a train from Euston to Manchester.
‘Officers met the train at Stoke railway station and identified people in connection. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
‘Anyone who can assist is asked to contact British Transport Police by either calling 0800 40 50 40 or texting 61016. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111. Please quote reference number 248 of 3 February 2025.’
Avanti West Coast has not commented.
Full transcript of racism row on Avanti West Coast train
- Man – ‘What did you say?’
- Woman – ‘Go back to Morocco…’
- Man – ‘Go back to Morocco or Tunisia?
- Woman – ‘Yeah, or Tunisia.’
- Man: ‘Why would you say that? It’s so disrespectful, I was born here. Were you born here?’
- Woman – ‘Were you?
- Man – ‘Yes I was born here.’
- Woman – ‘Doesn’t look like it to me.’
- Man – ‘Have some respect, I’ve paid my taxes, don’t ever disrespect me like that.’
- Woman – ‘Serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Serves me right? Do not ever disrespect me like that. Are you British?
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Are you British yourself?
- Woman – ‘I don’t want to speak with you.’
- Man – ‘Were you born here?
- Woman – ‘Don’t shout at me.’
- Man – ‘Don’t disrespect me, that was racist what you said. ‘Go back to where you come from’. I was born here, OK? Don’t ever disrespect me like that. OK, have some respect? You probably weren’t even born here yourself.’
- Woman – ‘Well you’re not speaking to me respectfully.’
- Man – ‘Because of what you just said – don’t ever talk to anyone like that. Who do you think you are?’
- Woman – ‘You’re shouting at me. ‘
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to anyone like that.’
- Woman – ‘Alright, I’m going to speak to one of these staff.’
- Man – ‘Speak to staff. I’ve got a recording saying ‘go back to your country’. Who do you think you are? You don’t talk to anyone… you don’t say to anyone ‘go back to your country’. Who are you?’
- Woman – ‘Look at the way you’re speaking to me now.’
- Man – ‘Yes, yes, I will speak to you like this because you are condescending, you are racist, and you are disrespectful. You don’t talk to anyone like that. Your parents or yourself were immigrants themselves. Have some respect.’
- Woman – ‘Sorry, I’m not going to be spoken to in that way.’
- Man – ‘I will speak to you – if you disrespect me, I will return the energy. You don’t disrespect me, you don’t condescend me and think I’ll speak to you with respect. You earn your respect, and you just lost it.’
- Woman – ‘Well I’m sorry but, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but you’ve got no right…’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever talk to me like this, don’t ever talk to anyone like this – don’t tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. That is disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘Well you should because you’re so rude, you shouldn’t be here.’
- Man – ‘This is my country, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t ever tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’. Are you OK?’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be shouted at.’
- Man – ‘I will shout at you, because you were just racist, you were disrespectful.’
- Woman – ‘You’re the only one who’s shouting.’
- Man – ‘You do not tell anyone ‘go back to your own country’.’
- Woman – ‘I’m not shouting – you’re the one who’s shouting to me.’
- Man – ‘And now you’re gaslighting – you said ‘go back to your own country’. I’ve got it on recording.’
- Second woman – ‘Is she alright there?’
- Man – ‘She told me ‘go back to your country’ and she was sticking up the middle finger. She’s an immigrant herself. Who do you think you are?’
- Second woman – ‘We heard her, we heard her, it’s disgusting.’
- Man – ‘It’s disgusting, you’re a disgusting woman, that’s what you are.’
- Woman – ‘But listen, you were the one who was rude to me.’
- Man – ‘No, you were rude to me. You were staring at me throughout the journey giving me dirty looks, my feet weren’t even close to you. And then you made a request in a very condescending manner. And I told you, you need to speak to people respectfully, don’t speak to me the way you did.’
- Woman – ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve got no regrets.’
- Man – ‘I’ve got it on recording.’
- Woman – ‘Good, good, show it to the police – go on. ‘
- Man – ‘I will, I will, OK, I’ll show it to the staff here’
- Woman – ‘Yeah, yeah, show it to the staff, show it to the police.’
- Man – ‘Don’t ever disrespect anyone. You know what, shut up.’
- Woman – ‘Don’t kick me.’
- Man – ‘Shut up. I’m not kicking you, I’m putting my leg just like what you did.’
- Woman – ‘Yes, you are kicking me.’
- Man – ‘I’m not kicking you, no, because that’s exactly what you did and you stuck the middle finger up and I’ve got it on video.’
- Woman – ‘It serves you right.’
- Man – ‘Cool, cool, then I’ll do the same thing. Don’t ever disrespect me.’
