Nigel Farage has broken his silence on last night’s horrific Huntingdon train knife rampage, as he demanded transparency from the authorities. The Reform UK leader’s first comments came as it was confirmed 10 people were hospitalised in the rampage, with nine suffering “life-threatening injuries”.
The attack took place at around 7.30pm yesterday evening on board an LNER train from Doncaster to King’s Cross. After the emergency cord was pulled, the driver pulled into Huntingdon station, where video footage showed scores of police cars and ambulances in the station car park, and a team of armed police running towards the stationary train. This morning Nigel Farage demanded answers, with both the Home Office and the Met yet to confirm a number of key details.
The Reform UK leader said: “The attack last night in Huntington was horrific.
“My thoughts are with all the victims and their families.
“We need to know who committed these awful attacks as soon as possible.”
Last night Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood urged people to avoid speculation. She told social media: “I am deeply saddened to hear about the stabbings in Huntingdon. My thoughts go out to all those affected.
“Two suspects have been immediately arrested and taken into custody.
“I am receiving regular updates on the investigation.
“I urge people to avoid comment and speculation at this early stage.”
It is not yet known whether the attack is being treated as a terrorist incident. The British Transport Police declared a major incident, and at one point declared “Plato”, the codeword used when responding to a terrorist incident, however this was later rescinded.
Two people have been arrested by the police, one of whom a witness said was tasered.
One eye-witness reported the knife-wielder to be a black man dressed in black clothing.
Witnesses have spoken of seeing a man with a large knife and passengers hiding in the toilets to escape the rampage.
One told The Times there was “blood everywhere” and people were getting “stamped” on by others as they tried to flee.
The Sun said another witness described the attack as “like something from a film”, adding: “It was a terrible scene, really violent.”
One man, who gave his name as Gavin, told Sky News he believed he saw the suspect Tasered before he was arrested.
He said: “Essentially, as they got closer to him, [police] started shouting, like, get down get down.
“He then was waving a knife, quite a large knife, and then they detained him.
“I think it was a Taser that got him down in the end.”