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An angry commuter was hauled away by police for shouting at the boss of crisis hit Southern rail on the concourse at London's Victoria station.

Tempers flared during a "meet the manager" event where frustrated passengers got the chance to confront the operator's chief executive Charles Horton.

The event was organised by Southern bosses to allow customers to vent their grievances directly following months of disruption on their routes.

In heated scenes, one suited "city commuter" was heard yelling at Mr Horton, a witness said.

Regular Southern commuter Alex Snelling, from Horsham, said the event was generally good-natured but tempers eventually boiled over.

“He just suddenly seemed to start shouting at Charles Horton and very, very quickly the British Transport Police intervened to calm things down,” the 39-year-old told the Standard.

“He looked like a typical city commuter. There were clear levels of anger.

“But he was very calmly and politely led away.”

Southern's poor performance has recently prompted London Mayor Sadiq Khan to call for it to be taken under the immediate control of Transport for London so it can get to grips with the daily crisis.

Diana Vetesse was another of the commuters to confront Mr Horton to complain about the "appalling" service.

The 52-year-old, from Billingshurst, West Sussex, said: “I’m generally frustrated and I was saying there’s an occasion where I did not manage to get home.

“They were very nice (at the event) and actually for me the trains have been working better but overall I think it’s appalling.

“We are paying so much for tickets and it’s so unreliable.”

Other managers were also involved with the event. On Twitter, one passenger said they had spent 15 minutes grilling the firm’s chief operating officer, but still wasn’t satisfied.

Mr Horton, the CEO of Southern’s parent company Govia Thameslink, said passengers at this morning’s event had been “very honest” and he had apologised to many of them.

“They reflected their frustration with the service over the last few weeks,” he said.

“Our customers are very honest, very reasonable and very patient.”

Travellers have suffered months of delays, cancellations and a reduced timetable amid staff shortages and strike action by conductors.

New rail minister Paul Maynard said the current level of service was “unacceptable”.

It came as Sadiq Khan last night invited transport union bosses into the heart of London government to mark the beginning of what he described as a “more constructive” relationship.

The Mayor sat down for talks at City Hall with union leaders including the RMT’s Mick Cash and Aslef’s Mick Whelan who have overseen a wave of strikes on the transport network.

They discussed London Underground’s planned projects in a bid to address any union concerns and avert further industrial action, as well as issues including the Southern Rail crisis.

Other attendees were Tim Roache from the GMB and senior officials from Unite and the TSSA.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Khan said that refusing to meet with the unions, as his predecessor Boris Johnson had done, would make strikes “more, not less, likely”.

He has shrugged off critics who claim his support for the unions, which funded and endorsed his mayoral campaign, would weaken his negotiating hand.

Additional reporting by PA