stabbings

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Huntingdon bleeding, with one man in a white shirt “completely covered in blood”.

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.

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.”

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”.

LNER urged passengers to check before travelling on Sunday due to possible cancellations or changes to services.

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.