Huntingdon Train Attack

Baroness Pidgeon Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Pidgeon (LD)]

My Lords, I want to put on record, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Benches, that our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible incident: the staff, the victims, friends and families, and those who witnessed this attack—an attack that left 11 people in hospital, and many haunted by what they saw. I also thank the courageous work of the LNER staff, the Network Rail signallers and controllers, and the emergency services, and the heroic acts of some of the passengers that we have been hearing about.

Staff prepare for major incidents routinely, but they rarely have to put this into practice. The calmness and professionalism have shone through this gruesome attack, and the goodness of the public too. It would be very easy to jump to conclusions at this point, using this horrific incident to feed our own policy positions. I believe that is wrong. It is for the police and key partners to piece together what happened on the train and elsewhere, to review whether this could have been prevented and to learn from it. It is always easy from the outside to point the finger of blame, but we know how stretched all our emergency services are, including policing—and indeed mental health. The police and other services need time to establish all the facts and clearly there is an ongoing legal process.

I would therefore like to ask the Minister a few practical questions. For example, what measures have been taken to reassure rail passengers and staff across the network following this incident? Will the Department for Transport look to review security protocols on high-speed and intercity routes, particularly considering the confined environment in which this attack occurred? How will the Government ensure that any proposed measures to improve public transport security are proportionate? Finally, last autumn, when we debated the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, I flagged my concern about the future funding of the British Transport Police, resourced in large part by the train operating companies. The BTP does such a superb job working with our other police services across the country.

I ask the Minister to confirm that resources for the British Transport Police will now be reviewed and how the service will be funded fully going forward. I look forward to the Minister’s response with interest.

[Lord Snape (Lab)]

My Lords, I endorse everything that has just been said by the noble Baroness from the Liberal Democrats—