London: The man accused of a horrifying attack on a high-speed train has been named as a key suspect in a string of earlier assaults, heightening anxiety about knife crime across Britain.
Police allege the man attacked a victim at a light rail station in London on the night before he boarded the intercity train and began stabbing passengers in a brutal assault that left 11 people with serious injuries in hospital.
Footage of a suspect allegedly involved in a stabbing on a train in Britain.Credit: Nine News / Daily Mail
The man, Anthony Williams, a 32-year-old British national, appeared in court briefly on Monday and was charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article. He did not enter a plea and is expected to return to court on December 1.
In a move that revealed concerns about earlier attacks, Williams was also charged with attempted murder for the earlier knife attack at a light-rail station in east London.
Police have also linked him to attacks around his home town of Peterborough, including one that injured a 14-year-old boy on Friday night, suggesting he engaged in a series of assaults over 24 hours before the train attack.
Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy of the British Transport Police called for witnesses to come forward.
“The criminal investigation and support for the victims is a priority for British Transport Police,” he said. “Our investigation is also looking at other possible linked offences.”
The LNER train where the stabbings took place.Credit: Getty
Political leaders praised the train driver of the high-speed train, who ensured it was transferred to a slower line and stopped within minutes of the attacks, and a crew member who shielded passengers and suffered grave injuries.
The crew member remains in hospital with serious injuries, but authorities said he was in a stable condition.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised the train crew members as heroes.
“There’s no doubt that their collective action, their brave action, saved countless lives, and I know the whole country is grateful for that,” he told the House of Commons.
While authorities initially said nine victims were facing life-threatening injuries in hospital out of 11 who were being treated, at least five have since been released. None are described as in a life-threatening condition.
Knife crime has become a major concern in Britain over several years, with official statistics showing there were 49,600 attacks with sharp instruments in England and Wales in the year to March 2025. This was similar to the levels in previous years, according to a study by the House of Commons Library.
Aware of the community fears about knife crime, the UK government announced three days ago that almost 60,000 knives had been removed from the streets in England and Wales through “knife surrender schemes” and police operations.
It said knife homicides had fallen by almost 20 per cent and that the latest admissions data for National Health Service hospitals in England and Wales showed a 10 per cent fall in admissions for knife assaults.
Facial recognition solution
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood suggested the government would consider allowing greater use of facial recognition to prevent crime.
“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 find themselves defending those decisions in courts in the future,” she said.
“I think there is much more that we can do to use new and emerging technology in order to help us tackle this type of criminality.”
While the train attack has sparked a debate about whether security on railways should be upgraded to levels closer to the security on airlines, the government has not canvassed measures of that kind.
Police said the first call to emergency services about the attack on the intercity service came at 7.42pm on Saturday (6.42am AEDT on Sunday) as the train headed from Doncaster to London.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Most Viewed in World
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
