Woman's victory over unpaid 20p fare

An archbishop's secretary who faced a criminal record over a 20p shortfall on her Oyster card today won her legal battle with Transport for London.

Rachel McKenzie, 54, swiped her pass on a bendy bus without realising she only had 70p on her card when she got on the No 12 near her East Dulwich home in November. A ticket inspector refused to let her pay the 20p extra or a penalty fare and TfL summoned her to appear in court on 22 May. But after the case was widely reported, TfL decided to drop it.

Today Ms McKenzie, who works for the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Southwark, said: "Thanks to publicity from newspapers like the Standard they reconsidered my case and the result is a victory for common sense." A TfL spokesman said: "We aim to be firm but fair."