'Hero' Huntingdon train driver who helped save lives of passengers revealed as Iraq war veteran

Andrew Johnson, from Peterborough, was responsible for diverting the London-bound train to Huntingdon station just minutes after being alerted to a mass stabbing on board.

Train driver Mr Johnson pulled the London-bound carriage into Huntingdon at around 19:39 which allowed emergency services to race to the scene.

It is believed he has worked as a driver since 2018 but previously served in the Royal Navy for 17 years and was deployed to Iraq in 2003 during the second Gulf War.

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He is understood to have ended his career as a Chief Petty Officer and having worked as a weapons engineer, The Telegraph reports.

During the Iraq War, Mr Johnson is believed to have served aboard a ship tasked with clearing mines in the Tigris river.

Despite having left the Navy and becoming a train driver, he and was seen fundraising for the Royal British Legion in his local Waitrose just days before Saturday's attack.

The 6.25pm service from Doncaster to King’s Cross had departed Peterborough station at 7.30pm when the knife attack began.

Ten people were taken to hospital and have people have since been discharged, but police said on Sunday evening that a LNER worker remains in a life-threatening condition.

The BTP also confirmed a 32-year-old British man from Peterborough remains under investigation on suspicion of attempted murder.

A 35-year-old man, from London, was arrested but has been released without charge.

A neighbour of Mr Johnson, who asked not to be named, said: "He's a nice guy. I’ve known him for a while."

"If he did the right thing and stopped the train, that's a massive thing and he's probably helped save some people’s lives," he told The Telegraph.

"It's a pretty bold thing to do. You don’t know what’s going on [in the carriage] if you’re a train driver."

MP for Huntingdon, Ben Obese-Jecty, spoke to LBC's Matthew Wright on Sunday to express his gratitude to emergency responders.

Mr Obese-Jecty said: "The train itself wasn't supposed to stop at Huntingdon - it was en route from Peterborough to, I believe, Stevenage, but it stopped here because that was the first station the driver was able to bring the train into and people disembarked and local police and armed police were able to stop the attacker.

"Credit to Cambridgeshire Constabulary. I met with the chief constable late last night and he reassured me around some of the way the response took place - the first officers on the scene were actually local response officers - the type you might see on a local Saturday night and armed police followed after - but incredible bravery from those officers for dealing with this situation."

Eddie Dempsey, the union’s general secretary, added: "I want to commend the professionalism, bravery and steadfastness of all the railway workers involved from the train crew to the driver and our members in operations, who quickly assisted in diverting the King’s Cross bound train into Huntingdon station, allowing the police and emergency services to take swift action.

"I will be seeking urgent meetings with government, rail employers and police to ensure that we have the strongest possible support, resources and robust procedures in place to protect our members and the travelling public."

Nigel Roebuck, Aslef officer who leads on negotiations with LNER, told Sky News: "He (the driver) didn’t stop the train in the middle of two stations where it's obviously difficult for the emergency services to reach, but he carried on going until he got to Huntingdon, where the response was pretty much already there."

Huntingdon station remains closed, and police have thanked the public for their patience.

The attack is understood to have started shortly after the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train left Peterborough station.

LNER, which operates East Coast Main Line services in the UK, said disruption to its services between London King’s Cross and Lincoln, Doncaster, Leeds, Bradford Forster Square and Harrogate was expected to last until Monday, with passengers advised to defer their travel where possible.

An Aslef union officer said the driver is very shaken but “good” and commended him for doing “exactly the right thing.

Nigel Roebuck, full-time organiser in the north-east of England for the train drivers' union Aslef and lead officer with LNER, said: "The driver did everything he was trained to do, at the right time and in the right way.

'He brought the train into a station where passengers could disembark safely and where police, fire and rescue, and ambulance crew could get on to the train and attend to the victims and, we believe, catch the culprit.

"He showed real courage, real dedication, and real determination in the most difficult of circumstances. Our thoughts tonight are with his colleague who is still in intensive care."