Peterborough Council leader calls for residents to support each other following train stabbings
Councillor Shabina Qayyum has been speaking three days on from an incident on a train which made an unplanned stop at Huntingdon station
The leader of Peterborough City Council has urged residents to support each other after last weekend’s stabbing on a train at Huntingdon.
Four people are still in hospital after the attack on an LNER service from Doncaster to London's King Cross last Saturday night (1st November 2025), which left eleven people in total needing hospital treatment.
Councillor Shabina Qayyum says her thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones:
"I want to let you know - and put on record - my thanks to all the emergency services that responded over the weekend, including the police, the signallers, the LNER staff who put their lives at risk to save others.
"I know how emotional you're going to be feeling about this and will be naturally worried about safety in our city.
"I'd like to reassure you that meetings are already ongoing about increased visibility and security on transport - and around dotted areas within our city."
An LNER staff member, Samir Zitouni (known as Sam), remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.
LNER said Mr Zitouni, who has worked for the firm for more than 20 years, has been credited with helping to save multiple lives after passengers came under threat.
Anthony Williams, 32, was remanded into custody at Peterborough Magistrates' Court on Monday charged with 10 counts of attempted murder over the train incident.
Separately, Williams is charged with one count of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article over an incident at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London in the early hours of Saturday, where a victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife.
He is next due to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday 1st December 2025.
Cambridgeshire Police has commissioned an internal review into events in the lead-up to a mass stabbing on a high-speed train service.
The force previously said the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy the day before and two reports of a knifeman seen at a barber's in Peterborough were being investigated.
It confirmed the teenager was non-fatally injured at 7.10pm on Friday before a man with a knife was seen at a barber's in Fletton 15 minutes later, although this was only reported to police two hours later.
A second report of a knifeman was made at 9.25am on Saturday when he was still at the scene, but when police arrived 18 minutes later they could not find him.
The mass stabbing on the train happened on Saturday evening, and the train made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon after passengers pulled emergency alarms and the driver took action.
Simon Megicks, Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Police, said he has "commissioned an internal review of the events which occurred prior to the tragic events of Saturday evening".
He said he welcomed the "additional scrutiny".
Mr Megicks said the force had also referred itself to watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), as is standard practice, but the referral "did not meet the criteria for a valid referral, so they are not investigating the matter".