‘Crisis in plain sight’ as corridor care patients watch others die like in ‘war films’
A MASS stabbing on a train that left nine people seriously injured sparked calls for a safety review today as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood praised the “exceptional bravery” of staff and passengers who intervened.
Two people remained in hospital with life-threatening injuries last night after the bloody rampage on Saturday’s 6.25pm service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross.
A non-driving member of the train crew was among those injured in the attack, the Morning Star understands, which took place shortly after the high-speed train had left Peterborough.
Passengers were seen hiding in train toilets to escape the rampage, the Times reported, after a man with a large knife made his way through a carriage. There was “blood everywhere,” a witness told the newspaper, and growing distress as people tried to flee to safety.
Eyewitness Olly Foster told the BBC that an older man had blocked the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving him with injuries to his head and neck. Other passengers used their clothing to try and stem the bleeding, he said.
It took some eight minutes from the LNER train’s emergency cord being pulled until the driver pulled into Huntingdon station: standard protocol to enable emergency services access and the safe disembarkation.
Rail union TSSA said emergency services and rail staff’s courage and composure had undoubtedly saved lives as it made fresh calls for preventive measures, heightened security and zero-tolerance towards aggression on our transport system.
TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “This is an appalling attack on passengers and rail workers alike. Transport networks must be safe for everyone, both the travelling public and the staff who serve them.
“We call on the operator and government to act swiftly to review security, to support the affected workers and to ensure nothing like this happens again.”
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Today I am spending time with RMT members working for LNER and our wider railway family. I won’t be doing any media interviews until the authorities have established the full facts of this horrific mass stabbing on board an LNER train.
“I want to commend the professionalism, bravery and steadfastness of all the railway workers involved, from the train crew to the driver and our members in operations who quickly assisted in diverting the King’s Cross-bound train into Huntingdon station, allowing the police and emergency services to take swift action.
“I will be seeking urgent meetings with government, rail employers and police to ensure that we have the strongest possible support, resources and robust procedures in place to protect our members and the travelling public.”
Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “We are shocked by the stabbings onboard the LNER service to London King’s Cross on Saturday evening.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of this attack, our railway colleagues, and the emergency services who dealt with the incident.”
Two men aged 32 and 35 were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and were taken to separate police stations to be questioned.
British Transport Police Superintendent John Loveless said one suspect is a black British national and the other is a British national of Caribbean descent, both born in Britain.
One of the suspects is believed to have been Tasered by officers before being arrested.
At a press conference today, Supt Loveless said the attack was not thought to be terror-related.
He added that 11 people had been treated in hospital, and after nine originally presented with life-threatening injuries, four have now been discharged.
Armed police officers and paramedics had attended Huntingdon station and boarded the train, arresting the two suspects within eight minutes of the 999 call being made, he said. It remains unclear when the two suspects alighted the train, and police did not disclose where they were from.
Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky News that “there’s no reason for the rest of us not to get on with our lives,” describing the incident as isolated.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I am receiving regular updates from the British Transport Police, who are leading the response to this awful incident, as well as LNER and other organisations involved.”
LNER has been contacted for comment on the incident. The firm, which operates East Coast Main Line services, said disruption to its services between London King’s Cross and Lincoln, Doncaster, Leeds, Bradford Forster Square and Harrogate was expected to last until today, with passengers advised to defer their travel where possible.
Last night the train driver, whose quick actions to divert the train to Huntingdon station helped save passengers’ lives, was named as Royal Navy and Iraq War veteran Andrew Johnson.
Mr Johnson, from Peterborough, has been working as a train driver since 2018 and is understood to have ended his military career as a chief petty officer and worked as a weapons engineer.
He was seen fundraising for the Royal British Legion in his local Waitrose just days before Saturday’s attack.
