Man Refuses Court Plea on Train Stabbing Charges

Anthony Williams, a 32-year-old man from Peterborough, refused to attend a court hearing on Monday where he was scheduled to enter pleas on 21 charges related to a mass stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire and several prior knife attacks. The hearing took place at Cambridge Crown Court, with Williams expected to appear via video link from custody.

Williams faces 10 counts of attempted murder stemming from the stabbing incident on November 1 aboard an LNER train traveling from Doncaster to London King's Cross. The attack began shortly after the train departed Peterborough station, prompting passengers to pull emergency alarms. The train driver, Andrew Johnson, a former Royal Navy member with 17 years of service, contacted a signaller and arranged an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire. Eleven people received hospital treatment following the assault, which targeted passengers including Scott Bletcher, Michael Paffett, Kevin Deely, Jonathan Gjoshe, David Presland, Sachin Balakrishnan, Stephen Crean, Samir Zitouni, Rasza Aslam, and Scott Green.

Among the victims was Samir Zitouni, a 48-year-old train crew member with over 20 years at LNER, who sustained...