There will be increased visible patrols at mainline stations over the coming days, the Transport Secretary said
There will be a review of rail security in the UK following a mass stabbing on a train, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said.
A man has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder after the knife attack on a Doncaster to London service on Saturday night.
Alexander told the BBC the government would “review security arrangements” and respond “swiftly and in a proportionate way”.
But she did not think airport scanning technology “is the right solution for stations in the UK”.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to make a statement about the attack to MPs in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
Questions about passenger safety on the UK’s rail network have been raised after a a black British national, who boarded a train at Peterborough station, attacked passengers with a knife.
Eleven people were treated in hospital including a member of train staff who is said to be in a “critical but stable condition”.
Anthony Williams, 32, from Peterborough has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article, British Transport Police (BTP) said on Monday morning.
Alexander told BBC Breakfast that BTP officers would increase visible patrols at mainline stations over the coming days “because I do understand that people will want to feel reassured following what happened”.
“Thankfully incidents like this on the public transport network are very, very rare,” she added.
She said the rail network in the UK was a “low crime environment” and for every one million passenger journeys only 27 crimes were committed.
Asked what steps the government would take to improve security on trains, she said: “We are investing in improved CCTV in stations and the Home Office will soon be launching a consultation on more facial recognition technology which could be deployed in stations as well.”
Asked about luggage scanners similar to those used in some major train stations abroad she said: “At the moment that type of airport scanning technology I don’t think is the right solution for stations in the UK.”
‘Real concerns’
Andy Trotter, former British Transport Police Chief Constable told BBC Breakfast Saturday’s attack illustrates “people’s real concerns about being trapped with an offender or with someone causing disorder”.
“I hope this results in a broader review of security, the need for more British Transport Police, the need for more security from the rail companies themselves.”
Asked about reports that BTP had carried out a training exercise a few months ago based on a scenario similar to what happened he said: “I know they did have a very similar exercise, as in the few weeks before 7/7 we had an exercise similar to the outcome on that day as well.
“It does make it work a lot better on the day, you learn from experience from those exercises what went well what didn’t go well.
“The police and the other emergency services also look at every event immediately afterwards to make sure you do learn lessons.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was calling for “a dramatic increase in the use of stop and search to take knives off the streets and potentially prevent attacks like the one was saw on the train”.
When asked for what reason the suspect in Saturday’s stabbing should have been stopped and searched before boarding the train when only his age, gender and ethnicity was known, he said “it would depend if there was an indication of suspicion”.
“But in high crime hot-spot areas there should actually be stop and search undertaken without suspicion,” he added.
Asked if he was suggesting the man should have been stopped and searched purely based on the colour of his skin he said “categorically not I am absolutely not saying that”.
The Conservative government in 2024 described laws on knife crime in England and Wales as “already among the toughest in the world”.
Challenged on why these same laws were no longer good enough, he said: “We need to go further with tougher knife crime laws, with more stop and search, and the use of technology like live facial recognition to identify wanted criminals and dangerous people so they can be arrested.”
Senior Reform UK politician Zia Yusuf on Sunday said he would not like to see increased security at train stations.
He told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme it would impose “enormous friction” on the lives of law-abiding people “as a result of the actions of a tiny minority”.
He argued for a significant increase in the use of stop-and-search powers “to saturation”, saying this would remove deadly weapons from circulation.
There is no single knife crime statistics publication in the UK but as far as England and Wales goes, police recorded 51,527 offences across both nations in the year to June 2025, according to the latest figures, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
However, these figures show knife crime is falling by 5% compared with the same period last year and 7% compared with five years ago. Homicides involving a knife also fell by nearly a fifth in the latest year to 196 offences, compared with 239 the year before.
“Run, there’s a guy stabbing everyone”: Eyewitnesses describe attack
Passengers travelling from Doncaster to London were attacked in a mass stabbing on a train on Saturday night.
Eleven people were injured and received hospital treatment. Two of them remain in a life-threatening condition.
Two British men in their thirties were arrested and police said there was currently “nothing to suggest” it was a terror incident.
Witnesses reported that police used a Taser on one man who was holding a knife.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the attack was “appalling” and “deeply concerning”.
Here is what we know so far about what happened.
Where did the stabbings happen?
The attack took place on the 18:25 GMT London North Eastern Railway (LNER) service from Doncaster, South Yorkshire to London’s King Cross station.
Passengers said at least one person brandishing a knife began stabbing people on the train after it passed through Peterborough in Cambridgeshire.
Cambridgeshire Police received the first call from passengers on board at 19:39, and the British Transport Police (BTP) was also alerted at 19:42.
The train made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon – which is some 15 minutes from Peterborough by train.
Altogether, the incident was estimated to last roughly 10 to 15 minutes – and passengers said it took place towards the rear of the train.
Armed police boarded the train and arrested two men within eight minutes of the call to BTP.
A large emergency service response was also sent to the scene, including air ambulances.
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Emergency crews and police rushed to Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire after 999 calls from the London-bound train
Uninjured passengers were interviewed by police and some boarded a coach bound for London.
Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty told the BBC there were about 10 ambulances, several fire engines and “well over 20 police cars” when he first arrived at the scene just after 21:00.
The station remained shut on Sunday morning, as well as the A1307 directly outside.
The empty train was still at the platform, while a police presence and forensics tents could also be seen.
What do we know about the suspects?
Supt John Loveless of the British Transport Police said two UK nationals were arrested.
The men, aged 32 and 35, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Police said the 32-year-old man is a black British national and the 35-year-old is a British national of Caribbean descent.
They have not yet been named and are being held in separate police stations for questioning.
What do we know about the victims?
Emergency crews took 10 people to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge – which is some 30 minutes away from the train station – and one person later went to the hospital for treatment.
Shortly before 11:00 on Sunday, police said two people remained in a life-threatening condition and four had been discharged.
No victims have yet been named.
What have eyewitnesses said?
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Forensics officers were at the scene on Sunday inspecting the empty train on the platform
Witnesses told the BBC of panic and confusion as passengers ran through the carriages, some wounded and bloodied.
Alistair Day, 58, told the BBC he hid in the buffet car with about 11 other passengers while the attacker attempted to gain entry.
He had run to to the car after seeing “a guy flailing out – a fracas with arms going everywhere”.
He said one passenger turned to him and calmly said he had been stabbed in the chest: “He had blood all over him, so we put pressure and stuff and held him.”
Olly Foster said he heard people shouting “run, there’s a guy stabbing literally everyone and everything” – and thought at first it might have been a Halloween prank.
He saw an older man with gashes on his head and neck after he “blocked” the attacker from stabbing a younger girl. Passengers then used their jackets to try to staunch the bleeding.
Watch: Police rush to scene of Cambridgeshire train attack
Another witness, Wren Chambers, said one person had been stabbed in the arm and bolted down the train to alert others – while another shouted “someone’s got a knife”.
Some passengers hid inside the toilets while others swarmed towards the front of the train.
London Underground worker Dean McFarlane said he saw multiple people running down the platform at Huntingdonbleeding, with one man in a white shirt “completely covered in blood”.
What have police said?
British Transport Police (BTP) declared a major incident and initially said counter-terrorism officers were supporting the investigation “to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident”.
The force said it had at one point declared “Plato” – the national code word used by emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack” – but later rescinded it.
Supt Loveless later said at a press conference on Sunday morning that “there is nothing to suggest this is a terrorist incident”.
Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC early reports suggested it was an isolated incident.
He added that this was a service he used often – and that he had travelled along the same route just hours before the attack – and paid tribute to the emergency response.
What has the reaction been?
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the “appalling incident on a train near Huntingdon is deeply concerning”.
He wrote on X: “My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said said her thoughts were with the victims, their friends and family and praised emergency workers who “responded rapidly, with the utmost professionalism and saving lives”.
King Charles issued a statement saying he and Queen Camilla extended their “deepest sympathy” to those affected and their loved ones.
“My wife and I were truly appalled and shocked to hear of the dreadful knife attack that took place on board a train in Cambridgeshire last night.”
“We are particularly grateful to the emergency services for their response to this awful incident.”
Reuters
Objects scattered across the station floor appeared to include belongings and medical supplies
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC she was “horrified” by the attack: “I can only imagine how frightening it must have been to be in an enclosed environment with someone rampaging in that fashion.”
She praised the emergency response to the incident and urged people not to speculate, while questioning why “we’re seeing more and more violence on our streets” despite efforts to tackle knife crime.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey praised the “extraordinary bravery” of passengers who stepped forward to protect others, while Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf told the BBC said people were “being traumatised in this country by the act that we have appalling knife crime”.
Tickets for Saturday and Sunday will be valid until Friday, and those who no longer want to travel this week can get a refund.
Lines have reopened between Hitchin and Peterborough. Great Northern and Thameslink trains between London Kings Cross and Peterborough will run, but there may be delays or cancellations.
A rail replacement service is in place to and from Huntingdon, which will remain closed until the end of Sunday.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said passengers would see a “high visibility presence” of police at stations and on trains throughout the day “to reassure the public”, and that she was receiving regular updates from the police and LNER.
People who are planning to travel today (2 November) have been urged to check their train journey as major disruptions are expected following the stabbings on an LNER service to London
10:54, 02 Nov 2025Updated 12:55, 02 Nov 2025
The incident took place on an LNER Azuma 18.25 service from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, to London King’s Cross(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A ‘major incident’ has been declared after multiple people were stabbed on board a train heading towards London, resulting in severe travel disruptions.
The shocking incident took place on Saturday, 1 November, during the LNER Azuma 18.25 service from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, to London King’s Cross. Police were alerted at 7.39pm to reports that “multiple people had been stabbed on a train”, and the service made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station for assistance from armed police, paramedics, air ambulances and transport police.
British Transport Police confirmed that 10 individuals were transported to hospital, with nine thought to have sustained life-threatening injuries. There have been no fatalities, and two suspects have been arrested over the stabbings.
As a result of the horrifying attack, there is disruption to the LNER, which operates East Coast Mainline services in the UK, between London Kings Cross and Peterborough today (2 November). People who were planning to travel today have been advised to check before travelling as there may be “cancellations or alterations to the services”.
In an update on their website, LNER said: “The emergency services are continuing to deal with a major incident between Hitchin and Peterborough. Whilst they carry out their work some lines are still closed.
“Services between London Kings Cross and Peterborough may be cancelled, revised or delayed.
“Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
“Grand Central and Hull Trains services are not impacted.”
In an update on X, formerly Twitter, LNER also stated: “Customers booked to travel today, 02 November, can defer their travel up to and including the 07 November. Please check our website for the latest advice and updates.”
For the Great Northern and Thameslink services, LNER confirmed on their website: “Lines have reopened between Hitchin and Peterborough and trains which run between London Kings Cross and Peterborough will be able to run.
“However, Huntingdon station remains closed, if you wish to travel from Huntingdon, you will need to take a rail replacement bus to either St Neots or Peterborough and from there you can take a train service towards your destination. All buses are advertised on journey planners.
“If you are travelling to Huntingdon from the direction of London / Hitchin, please alight the train at St Neots where replacement buses are running. There are also rail replacement buses running from Peterborough to Huntingdon.
“Additionally, no trains in the direction of Peterborough will be able to call at Arlesey until at least 09:00.”
Content cannot be displayed without consent
For more information, you can check the LNER website for updates here. Alternatively, you can check the Thameslink services here and the Great Northern lines here.
Following the incident, a spokesperson for LNER said: “We are concerned for everyone affected by the incident that occurred on the 1825 service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross on Saturday evening (1 November.)”
David Horne, Managing Director of LNER, said: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by this serious incident, and our thoughts are very much with everyone involved.
“I would like to thank the emergency services for their quick and professional response and the care they have provided to those injured. Anyone with information who hasn’t already spoken to police is urged to contact British Transport Police.
“The safety and wellbeing of everyone affected will remain our priority. We will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues during this difficult time.”
A spokesperson for the Rail, Maritime and Transport union also issued a statement: “We are horrified by the mass stabbing attack on an LNER train last night.
“Our thoughts remain with the train crew and passengers who were either at work or going about their business on a busy Saturday night during this awful incident.
“It is important we allow the emergency services and authorities to establish the full facts before commenting further.”
LOCALS in “Britain’s most dangerous” say it has become overrun with knife-wielding kids who are making their lives hell.
In a children’s playground at 2pm on a weekday afternoon, two masked drug dealers bear down on our photographer, spitting threats.
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A hooded young man approached our photographer at Ayresome Gardens childrens play areaCredit: North News & Pictures Ltd
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The remains of a trolley and fire outside homes in the Hemlington area of MiddlesbroughCredit: NNP
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Middlesbrough town centre – where crime is on the riseCredit: North News & Pictures Ltd
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The two young men questioned what our reporter for was doingCredit: North News & Pictures Ltd
The two young men had seen him taking pictures in the town centre park and wanted to make sure they didn’t appear in them, one putting on a balaclava and the second pulling up the hood of his jacket.
After threatening to smash up his equipment, one of them explained the reason they were there.
“We’re here to f*** up your society by selling drugs to the white boys,” he snarls.
It’s an alarming – but perhaps not surprising – welcome to Middlesbrough, the Teesside town which now has the unenviable status of “Britain’s most dangerous”.
New Home Office statistics reveal that the town suffered 158 crimes per 1,000 people – or to put it another way, one person in six was the victim of crime in the past year.
The Community Safety Partnership stats show Middlesbrough was eclipsed only by Westminster (423 crimes per 1,000) and Camden (195) – although both have much higher populations.
After encountering the town centre drug dealers, The Sun went to the crime-plagued Hemlington estate on the south western edge of the town to speak to locals.
The hot topic of the day was the suspension of bus routes to some parts of the estate due to stone and brick attacks by children aged as young as 10.
And another community facility, the Cleveland Huntsman pub, had just had its licence revoked after a man was allegedly stabbed and slashed in an altercation following a spate of criminal damage at the premises.
A number of knife-related cases from recent months are heading through the courts, including the murder of 28-year-old Jordan Hogg.
Our once-booming town has become a benefits sinkhole where HALF of adults are out of work & bored, feral kids set homes alight with fireworks
Four men and two youths deny stabbing him to death in the bleak Fonteyn Court.
It was also on Fonteyn Court that a 19-year-old man was stabbed on August 11 at 5.20pm – and within five minutes a 21-year-old man suffered the same fate on nearby Dalwood Court.
There was a weary acceptance from locals.
“It’s sickening but at the same time it’s just bog standard,” says one elderly woman who stops to chat on Fonteyn Court.
The kids are carrying knives before they’ve left primary school and they learn from the older lads how to use them, the number of stabbings is out of control.
Resident in Fonteyn Court
“The kids are carrying knives before they’ve left primary school and they learn from the older lads how to use them, the number of stabbings is out of control.
“I’d say we need more bobbies, but they have no respect for authority. I mean, just look around you.”
She has a point. The street is split around 50/50 between occupied and boarded up houses. Disconcertingly, voices can be heard coming from behind some of the green shutters.
Mattresses are dumped on pavements and the remains of torched wheelie bins, sofas and shopping trolleys litter the deserted green areas where children might once have played.
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Discarded mattresses in Fonteyn Court, Hemlington, an area which is a crime hotspot in the townCredit: NNP
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Residents say kids are carrying knives before they’ve left primaryCredit: NNP
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Many locals are worried to leave their homes in parts of the townCredit: NNP
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The one rare sign of cheer is that someone has placed a giant paddling pool at the centre of a grassy areaCredit: NNP
The one rare sign of cheer is that someone has placed a giant paddling pool at the centre of a grassy area, a hosepipe leading through the back gate of a neighbouring house.
People are loath to speak publicly for fear of reprisals, but one shopkeeper tells us “feral” kids are at the centre of the problems.
“You can see them lining up at the side of the road to bomb the buses with bricks,” he says.
“Some of them are tiny little kids, screaming and swearing as they chuck stones.”
Police travelling undercover on buses
The situation became so bad that officers from Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team travelled undercover on buses in the area, leading to the arrest of a 10-year-old boy on suspicion of four counts of criminal damage and three counts of causing danger to road users.
He was later referred to the Youth Offending Team while another boy aged 14 was identified and dealt with for separate offences.
Middlesbrough Council identified a further 10 kids involved in nuisance behaviour, with home visits and “diversionary activity referrals” doles out to their parents.
Acting Inspector Des Horton, from Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This operation not only helps us to identify those involved in these incidents, but also allows us to build up intelligence and provide reassurance to the drivers of the buses that are being targeted.”
In an unconnected incident, two teenagers have been charged with attempted murder after a 17-year-old was stabbed in the estate’s Phoenix Park in May.
And on August 14, a dozen police vehicles swarmed the estate after a police officer was injured as he responded to reports of a man in possession of a knife.
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A hooded youth in Ayresome Gardens childrens play areaCredit: NNP
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Rubbish bags piled up outside homesCredit: NNP
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Wailan Lau says the number of stabbings are ‘completely out of control’Credit: NNP
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John Clark, 85, worries for young members of his family living in the townCredit: NNP
An arrest was made following a five-hour stand-off in which cups, bricks and chairs were hurled in the direction of emergency workers.
Chinese takeaway owner Wailan Lau, 48, has lived in Hemlington for the past 25 years.
He told The Sun: “It has got worse and worse over the years, the number of stabbings we see now is completely out of control, it never used to be like this.
“Where I live is fine, I have the same neighbours I have had for years and it is a proper community, everyone looks out for each other.
“But some parts of the estate are just dangerous, so much so that buses and taxis will not go down those streets.
“A lot of the problems we face are down to drugs and in a lot of cases it is drug dealers fighting drug dealers, but sometimes innocent people get caught up in that, which is scary.
“Kids seem to carry knives all the time and the ones who do are getting younger.
“It’s sad to see this town become one of the worst places in the country for crime because it’s a good place full of good people, unfortunately parts of it have become dangerous.”
Asked whether he knew anyone who had recently been a victim of crime, 17-year-old Harvey Wilson initially shook his head and then suddenly remembered: “Oh yeah, I was held at knifepoint.”
The casual way he recounts a terrifying encounter is chilling.
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Harvey Wilson, 17, described how he’d been robbed at knifepointCredit: NNP
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Certain crimes continue to rise in MiddlesbroughCredit: NNP
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A sign warning customers to ‘please remove hoods when entering shop’Credit: NNP
Harvey, who hopes to become a carpet fitter when he finishes his studies, said: “I’d just gone for a walk near Albert Park in the town and two lads stopped me and pulled a knife.
“Thankfully I’d left my phone at home and didn’t have any money so they just walked away.
“I’ve been able to forget it pretty quickly but I suppose it is quite scary how many people carry knives. I never would but people do.
“There are areas where you know not to go and if you keep yourself to yourself you probably won’t get any trouble, it’s the people who try to make a name for themselves who end up getting hurt.
“If your name gets known you’ll end up getting hurt.”
Things are getting worse and there are way too many young kids getting killed and injured with knives or getting involved with drugs.
John Clark, 82Middlesbrough resident
In the Parkway Centre, just outside Hemlington, John Clark, 82, reflects on the change in his home town over the course of his lifetime.
He started his working life as a hand rammer making sand castings at steel foundry on the river Tees.
John said: “That was my life, working in steel works and foundries and all of that has gone, there’s nothing left of the industry that built the town and that’s a big part of its problems.
“When I was a kid we had prospects and there was work to pay us a wage and keep us occupied, now the young people have nothing.”
He nods down at his young grandson in the buggy he’s leaning on and says: “I don’t worry for myself when I go about in Middlesbrough but I worry for him and younger members of the family.
“Things are getting worse and there are way too many young kids getting killed and injured with knives or getting involved with drugs.
“The brand new sports shop near us got ram raided the other night as soon as it opened by people in flatbed trucks. The place was left in a right mess and he lost all his new stock.”
Rebecca Green, 40, agreed that poverty plays a part in MIddlesbrough’s crime epidemic.
She said: “We live in a part of the world that has high levels of deprivation and that feeds the crime rate, when people are struggling to live they do desperate things.”
Student Shay Thorpe, 18, hopes to be a social worker.
“I’d move away if I could,” she says. “Even though I have always lived here, there are some parts of the town that I wouldn’t go.
“The town centre is scary and you can see from looking round that there’s a major drug problem there.”
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Shay Thorpe, 18, says she would move away if she couldCredit: NNP
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Shuttered up shops in Middlesbrough town centreCredit: NNP
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A person speaks to cops outside Poundland in the town centreCredit: North News & Pictures Ltd
