British Transport Police have named a financier and a Trump-supporting PR executive as the couple sought in connection with a racist attack on the London Underground. Philip Ostermann and Melissa Rein Lively were identified after a family reported being racially abused and assaulted at Bond Street station on October 11.
Ostermann, an associate director at Munich-based private equity firm Aequita, had his work profile removed on Tuesday. Rein Lively, 40, a political consultant who previously sought a White House spokesperson role under Donald Trump, made headlines in 2020 for filming herself destroying face masks during the pandemic.
The incident occurred around 7:30pm when the victim, a 34-year-old woman, was entering the station with her sister and two young children. Police allege the couple collided with the buggy, prompting the man to shout racial abuse and the woman to grab the victim's hair. The man reportedly produced a small bottle, claimed it was pepper spray, and sprayed it towards the family.
Rein Lively posted an Instagram photo outside Sotheby's on Bond Street last month wearing the same outfit as the woman in the police image, captioned “With love from London.” She has since deleted her account. Ostermann was listed to speak at a private equity conference on October 14.
Police are urging anyone with information to text 61016 quoting reference 413 of 12 October, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Enquiries into the substance used are ongoing, with no ill effects reported.
