The Guardian’s view on the Huntingdon train stabbing: Immigration-focused rights are failing the public | Editorial

WPeople who witnessed Saturday evening’s stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire initially wondered whether reports of a knife-wielding attacker were just a Halloween prank. As passengers fled through the carriages, some bleeding and screaming warnings, it became clear that this was one of those terrible moments when a nightmare becomes reality.

LNER and emergency services staff are to be commended for their quick response. By diverting high-speed service to Huntingdon, train driver Andrew Johnson averted a worse disaster. Police described another crew member, who remains in critical condition, as “heroic”. Five out of 10 people injured in the rampage have been extricated. The suspect, Anthony Williams, was arrested at the scene and appeared in court.

The contrast between the professionalism on the front lines and the knee-jerk cynicism of some right-wing politicians and commentators, in using these events to stoke fear and prejudice, could not be greater. Police announced at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday that two male suspects, both black British citizens, had been arrested. Since one of these men was later released and had nothing to do with the attack, the decision to arrest and announce his arrest must be immediately reconsidered.

But the behavior of senior politicians, as well as lesser public figures, over the weekend was an ugly reminder of why the guidance should be changed to enable the nationality or ethnicity of suspects to be announced in high-profile cases where there is a risk of misinformation. While Chris Philp, the Tory shadow home secretary, said police should have released “identity details” sooner, Benhabib, former co-leader of the UK Reform movement, said it was “almost unbelievable” that this was not a terrorist attack.

Not only do such ill-advised statements undermine the police, they expose the hypocrisy of right-wing politicians’ claims to stand for law and order. They actively contribute to a climate of suspicion, as social media rumors can easily create the false impression that facts are hidden. The truth is that neither of the two high-profile stabbings in recent years involving strangers were terrorist attacks. Investigations into his killings Valdo Kalukani in Nottingham in 2023, and Axel Rodacobana in Southport in 2024, both focusing on men’s interactions with mental health and other public services.

It will take some time to come to an understanding of what happened on Saturday. But given previous knife attacks, we can be certain that public services, including the NHS, need to get better at identifying people who pose a threat. In the case of Rudakupana, the failure of information sharing between police forces is expected to be highlighted when the investigation report is published next year. An NHS review of the care provided to Kalocaine, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, indicated treatment and risk assessment failures. It has been shown on numerous occasions that shortages of mental health beds and other resources contribute to such lapses.

Mental illness-related explanations for extreme violence and terrorism are not mutually exclusive, of course. Debate continues in policy circles about how to deal with attackers who focus their attention on violence rather than a particular ideology or worldview. But the opportunistic use of such tragedies to foment hostility towards asylum seekers, and racial prejudice more broadly, must stop. It drags our politics down the drain.

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