Huntingdon train attack survivor feared suicide bomber was on board, court hears

A passenger who fled from a knifeman on a train where 10 people were stabbed feared there may have been a suicide bomber on board, a court has heard.

Milan Campion, who was on the LNER train that was stopped at Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire on 1 November 2025, said he heard people shout “there’s a guy with a knife”.

In a video-recorded police interview played at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday, he said: “There was a big chain of us running down the aisle shouting to follow us.”

He said he “thought it might have been a suicide bomber so I need to get as far away as possible to maximise your chance of survival if it goes off”.

Mr Campion said the fleeing passengers “ended up at some catering bit” of the train, and some people tried to use items of luggage to shield themselves.

He said he saw a man “slashing” with a knife, adding: “It was quite slow slashing, almost like ‘stay away’.

“It didn’t really look like he wanted to do anything, to be honest with you.”

He said there were “breaks when he wasn’t slashing and he was just standing there holding a knife shouting”.

Mr Campion said he shouted to the knifeman “it’s not worth it”.

“He just looked angry, you could see the anger in his eyes,” the witness said.

He told the police he came to the conclusion the attacker “wasn’t of sound mind”.

Anthony Williams, 33, denies attempting to murder 10 people on the LNER train.

He also denies the attempted murders of three people in Peterborough on 31 October and of a 17-year-old boy at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London in the early hours of 1 November.

Judge Mr Justice Calver earlier told jurors at Cambridge Crown Court that whether Williams carried out the attacks is not in question, but they must consider whether he intended to kill.

Mr Campion saw Williams earlier in the journey when he opened the sliding door of a train toilet and found the defendant sat inside.

Mr Campion said the toilet door had indicated it “was free, so I thought there’s not someone there”.

“When I slid it open there was a guy in there,” he said.

“I thought he was using the toilet at first but I think he was just on it staring at the ground.”

He said Williams did not say anything, and “I was just like ‘sorry mate’ and slid it shut”.

“I thought nothing of it, I went back to my seat,” he said.

Mr Campion said it was “weird he hadn’t locked the door as most people do”.

Max Bendel said in a video interview that he was a passenger on the train when the attacker “pounces on the guy sitting there”.

“I catch a glimpse of like, a full-size, pretty massive kitchen knife,” he said.

“He immediately starts stabbing him repeatedly multiple times.”