Man arrested after Nando's worker hit with plate

A man has been arrested after a Nando's worker was hit in the face with a plate by a customer in east London nearly a year ago.

Zahra, who did not want to give her last name, previously told BBC London she was assaulted in March last year after a man complained about a highchair at the Stratford branch of the restaurant chain.

The student said she told two Met Police officers who were in the building at the time about what happened, but they allowed the man to leave the scene.

On Saturday, a Met spokesperson said: "A 32-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an incident where a waitress was assaulted at a Nando's restaurant in Stratford in March 2024."

The force previously apologised for its handling of the case, saying it had not been "progressed promptly by officers".

CCTV footage, which was shared on social media, showed Zahra being hit by a man in the restaurant.

She claimed she was initially verbally abused after telling a man he would need to move to a different table in order for his baby to use a highchair, because of the layout of the room.

She explained that after a manager became involved, the man, who was also accompanied by a woman, agreed to move, but she was later hit in the face with a plate when she served food to their table.

"I was shocked. I couldn't register what happened, I couldn't process what had happened," Zahra said.

She said she alerted one of the officers - a female - who "didn't seem bothered" about the attack, and told her to speak to her male colleague.

"I was really disappointed and extremely upset by that," Zhara added.

A Met spokesperson said in August: "A report of assault was made to police at the time of the incident, however, it appears this was not progressed promptly by officers.

"We are working to establish why this happened and accept this is not the level of service Londoners should rightfully expect from the Met."

A Nando's spokesperson said it was a "shocking and unprovoked attack" that "would not be tolerated" in its restaurants.

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