CHRIS HUGHES: 'Huntingdon train stabbing is stuff a nightmares – and may have been more horrific'
The Huntingdon train stabbing left 11 people in need of hospital treatment - but the incident could have been much worse if the context was ever so slighlty different
The horrific nature of the train stabbings at Huntingdon was matched by the swift and efficient response from the emergency services.
Being in a confined train as they fled added to the terror felt by victims and witnesses, knowing there was a limit to where they could escape. However, the very nature of that confined and fast-moving space meant once alerted the police could swamp it as it came to a halt, and medical professionals could work on the victims.
Yet again emergency staff should be commended for running towards danger when others were running away, not knowing what they were hurling themselves into.
The scene on the bloodied train must have been the stuff of nightmares. In different circumstances, such as a long haul between remote stations in the countryside, the result could have been more horrific. That would have meant longer delays for the police to get to the train station once the alert was raised, presumably by the driver or by 999 calls from the train itself.
Nevertheless 11 people needed treatment in hospital, two of whom are said to remain in a life-threatening conditon.
Quickly police have said it is not being treated as a terrorist incident, even though two men have been arrested, meaning it may not have been a lone-wolf crazed attack.
A 35 year-old suspect was released without charge. This lessens the likelihood of a suspected conspiracy and boosts the likelihood that the remaining suspect is a lone- wolf. It also distances the nature of the enquiry from terrorism and puts it more firmly in the context of a violent crime.
Both men had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. It is possible police thought the released suspect was in some way associated with the remaining alleged attacker.
Arresting him would have given them access to home and belongings to try and establish who he is. However, he is no longer under suspicion.
Armed police were there and rightly so, but the use of a Taser massively bolsters the argument for non-lethal weapons as the first option as detectives now have two living suspects. It may also have hugely reduced the risk to passengers nearby, compared to if shots had been unleashed on the suspects.
Such low-tech attacks using knives, cars or other weapons, trigger few alarms with police and intelligence units looking out for alarming patterns.
They leave little trace, such as the purchase of weapons, ammunition or explosives, although we will know soon if the suspects were known to the police or MI5. The terror alert set by MI5 and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre remains at “substantial” and has not changed - although that still means an attack is “likely”.
This remains below “severe” meaning “highly likely”, and “critical” meaning “highly likely in the near future”. It means counter-terror police, though involved in the investigation, have not detected a pattern which could lead to follow up to the violence.
And crucially it means the UK is not thought currently to be under attack once more by a lunatic, ideologically driven terror movement.
