Latest Huntingdon train stabbing: Attack on teen the night before may be linked

Peterborough MP Andrew Pecks told the Commons he did not want his constituency to be known “just because of the actions of one criminal”.

He paid tribute to train driver Andrew Johnson, one of his constituents, and said he went “beyond the call of duty”.

He said Andrew and his colleagues had “shown the best of British values ​​and the true face of the county I represent and its people.”

The MP also called on the government to tackle knife crime and ensure public transport IDs are erased.

The LNER train company has issued a statement thanking driver Andrew Johnson.

Mr Johnson, who has been driving for almost 20 years after serving in the Royal Navy for 17 years, made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon, allowing police officers to approach the train.

“As train drivers, we have a lot of responsibility. We practice our emergency response and stay up to date with our knowledge of the route, so if necessary, we know where to stop and what to do,” Mr Johnson said.

He added: “The actions I took are the same as any other driver. I think my colleagues onboard were real heroes and I want to pay tribute to their bravery.”

David Horn, LNER managing director, said: “Andrew’s actions are testament to the expertise and skills he has built up over his career in both the railways and the military. The intensive training undertaken by our drivers means they are always ready to respond to any situation.

“We are grateful to Andrew, our onboard colleagues, the signaler and the station team at Huntingdon for their actions on Saturday. Our thoughts are with our colleague in hospital.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the “courageous actions” of those responding to a mass stabbing on a train on Friday “saved countless lives”.

In the Commons, he said: “I want to record in this House my tribute to the heroic actions of the police, first responders and in particular both the driver and staff members of the train traveling from Doncaster to London, where such a vile and horrific attack took place this weekend.

“We all share in the disgust at this shocking incident, but there is no doubt that their collective action, their brave action, saved countless lives, and I know the entire country is grateful for that.”

Labor MP Ruth Cadbury, who chairs the transport select committee, asked the Home Secretary about long-term safety changes on rail services.

Shabana Mahmood replied that it is “always a balance” when it comes to ease of travel and ensuring people’s safety.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson accused Shadow Home Secretary Chris Phillips of “blaming foreigners” in his speech about the Huntingdon train attack.

After accusing Reform UK members of trying to “sow fear and sow division”, Mr Wilkinson said: “The shadow Home Secretary’s comments today fall into that same vein.

“Never miss an opportunity to blame foreigners. This is under contempt.

“At such moments, those who aspire to leadership must quell fear and strive to unite, not stoke tensions.”

Mr Phillip shouted from his seat: “I didn’t blame the foreigners, take it back!”

Responding, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “I condemn the ease with which so many armchair warriors feel the need to speculate and spread misinformation on social media. That is why it is vital that the police and all our emergency services are able to pursue their investigations with speed as well as in a transparent manner, so as to defuse any tensions that may arise as a result of misinformation, particularly on social media.

“In terms of how other people may or may not have reacted, I think in moments of crisis like this, people generally reveal their true colors, and I’ll leave my comments about other individuals at that.”

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Max Wilkinson, Accused “radical right-wing, including Reform Party members” political figures of trying to “exploit the incident for political gain”.

Mr Wilkinson said: “After an incident like this, it is important that police are given the time and space they need to establish the full facts.

“This is made even more difficult by the rapid spread of online disinformation in the immediate aftermath of such attacks. Within hours, social media were filled with speculation over the ethnicity and race of the perpetrator, leading to racist and Islamophobic comments.

“And while communities were still grappling with the horror of this attack, some far-right political figures, including members of the Reform Party, were already trying to exploit the incident for political gain.

“Desperate to involve themselves in the tragedy, they reached for their dog whistle.

“They gave baseless opinions on the level of crime when the facts were available. They were shamelessly trying to turn the tragedy into another pretext to create fear and sow the seeds of division.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government could do “much more” with “new and emerging technology” to tackle knife crime.

Responding to Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip, Ms Mahmood said: “This Government will consult on a legal framework so that all police forces across the country can use live facial recognition technology, confident that they will not have to defend those decisions in the courts in the future.”

He said: “I think there is a lot we can do by using new and emerging technology to help tackle this type of criminality.”

Ms Mahmood said that “the majority” of people who possess a knife receive “fairly long prison sentences”, adding: “As we learn more about the circumstances of this particular case, we will know whether there are other lessons for us to learn, and other areas of policy to consider.”

Regarding stop and search he said: “Police already have the power to indiscriminately stop and search where intelligence suggests it is needed. That is an operational decision for police chiefs.”

He said, “It is a well-used power. It is a well-understood power. It is an important power that we have in our arsenal to tackle criminality and this Government fully supports its legitimate use.”

Following a mass stabbing on a high-speed train on Friday, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip said the Conservatives would fully support the national rollout of facial recognition technology.

He told the Commons: “Does he agree that more criminals who commit knife crimes should be jailed? That’s important, because when criminals are in prison, they certainly can’t attack the public. Does he agree that we need to ensure that people who possess knives, particularly where they use them to threaten others, are sent to prison?

“I know, of course, there is pressure on prison spaces, but by deporting over 10,000 foreign nationals who are in prison, we can create more space. We also need to take more knives off our streets, and that means we have to dramatically increase the use of stop and search.”

He said: “I really hope the Home Secretary will agree, and the Police Minister will agree, that rolling out (facial recognition) technology nationally would have a dramatic impact on improving public safety, and if they choose to do that they will certainly have my full support.”

Mr Philip also asked for an update on developments in technology that can “distinguish knives from keys or mobile phones” arguing that it “could help police more quickly identify people carrying knives in a public place”.

Responding to Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip’s comments on the need to increase ‘stop and search’ requirements, Shabana Mahmood agreed that knife crime is “very high”.

She agreed that more needed to be done to reduce attacks and called on both sides of Parliament to work together to address the issue.

He said the police have the power to indiscriminately stop and search people if necessary.