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The suspected Huntingdon train knifeman was “not known to counter-terrorism police, the security services or the Prevent programme,” says Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. Amid reports that he had a history of mental-health issues and was known to the authorities. the Cabinet minister declined to give any details of his medical record. “I’m not going to speculate about his motivations or the events that led up to the incident,” she told Times Radio. “What I can tell you is that he was not known to counter-terrorism police, he was not known to the security services, and he was not known to the Prevent programme.” Asked if the suspect was known to mental health services, she said: “I’m not in a position to share any more information about the individual, I’m afraid. “Investigations are continuing, they’re reviewing CCTV evidence from the train, from elsewhere, looking at other evidence.” A taxi driver who saw the suspect being arrested by armed police said he was saying “Kill me, kill me, kill me.” The 32-year-old black British man, from Peterborough, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder was also reported to have talked about the “devil” when he was detained. Footage appeared to show him swaggering with a knife at Huntingdon station after it had been diverted there to be met by armed police who had rushed to the scene within eight minutes of 999 calls being made. Ms Alexander promised “justice” for the victims of the horrific attack on the 6.25pm Doncaster to London train on Saturday and said she was limited in what she could say publicly to avoid the risk of prejudicing a future trial. A 35-year-old man who was also arrested eight minutes after police were called at 7.42pm has since been released after officers established he was not involved in the attack which left 11 people needing treatment in hospital. As many London commuters were heading into the city to work, Ms Alexander said there would be an increase in visible police patrols at stations but insisted public transport was safe. She added that security on Britain’s railways will be reviewed and any recommendations swiftly implemented in a “proportionate, practical and targeted” way. “We will obviously learn any lessons that need to be learned from this horrific attack,” she said. “The deployment of officers will be operational decisions for the British Transport Police and I want to make interventions that have the best chance of countering the threats that individuals who are using the railways may face.” She told LBC Radio that she would need persuading that giving train staff pepper spray would be a suitable measure. She told Times Radio: “He went to work on Saturday morning to do his job and he left work a hero.” She added that CCTV footage showed “he literally put himself in harms way so there will be people alive today because of his actions”. The LNER staff member was in a critical but stable condition. The Cabinet minister also sought to reassure train passengers about the risks they faced. She emphasised: “Public transport generally is a low-crime environment - and this incident was absolutely horrific on Saturday night, and I don’t want to take away from that in any way - but generally, our trains are some of the most safest forms of public transport anywhere in the world. “For every one million passenger journeys that are made, there are 27 crimes.” She added: “Now for me, one crime is one crime too many, so we will after this review all of our security measures because that is the right thing to do.” She also told how a major incident had been declared on Monday after a train derailed in Cumbria. Nobody was reported by early Monday to have been injured but disruption on services was expected.
