Anthony Williams Admits Mass LNER Train Stabbings But Denies Attempted Murder

A 33-year-old man who carried out a violent knife rampage aboard an LNER passenger train and across multiple public locations has admitted a string of stabbing and weapons offences, but denies 14 counts of attempted murder.

Anthony Williams, 33, of no fixed abode, appeared before Cambridge Crown Court via video link from custody on Monday 19 October 2026, where he entered guilty pleas to 12 counts of wounding with intent and two counts of attempting to wound with intent.

Williams also admitted seven further offences, including knife theft, possession of bladed articles in public, affray, and assaulting a police officer while in custody.

However, prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC informed the court that the guilty pleas do not resolve the indictment, and Mr Justice Calver confirmed that Williams will stand trial on Monday 26 October 2026 on the remaining 14 counts of attempted murder.

The primary allegations stem from a mass stabbing on Saturday 1 November 2025 aboard the 18:25 LNER passenger service travelling from Doncaster to London King's Cross.

As the train travelled through Cambridgeshire after departing Peterborough Station, Williams launched an unprovoked attack on passengers and rail staff, injuring 12 people on board.

The violence forced the train driver to make an unscheduled emergency stop at Huntingdon railway station, where armed police officers stormed the carriage and apprehended the suspect.

Appearing before the court, Williams entered guilty pleas to 10 counts of wounding with intent in relation to the victims on the train at Huntingdon, while continuing to deny 10 counts of attempted murder linked to the same incident.

The court heard that the train attack formed part of a wider series of knife-related offences across Cambridgeshire, London, and Hertfordshire over a three-day period. Williams admitted stealing a pack of knives from an Asda store in Stevenage on 31 October 2025, carrying a bladed article in public in Peterborough, and committing an affray at a barber shop in Peterborough.

In relation to violent incidents in Peterborough on 31 October 2025, Williams pleaded guilty to wounding with intent of a 14-year-old boy, as well as attempting to wound two men aged 22 and 28.

He further admitted common assault on a train travelling between King's Cross and Peterborough on 1 November 2025, an intended wounding and possession of a bladed article at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London during the early hours of 1 November 2025, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a male police officer in custody on 2 November 2025.

Despite his admissions to the physical attacks and weapons offences, Williams maintains not guilty pleas to 14 counts of attempted murder.

These contested charges comprise 10 counts of attempted murder on the LNER train at Huntingdon, three counts of attempted murder relating to the 14-year-old boy, the 22-year-old man, and the 28-year-old man in Peterborough, and one count of attempted murder relating to the incident at Pontoon Dock DLR station in east London.

Remanding Williams in custody, Mr Justice Calver adjourned the proceedings ahead of the trial, which is scheduled to begin at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday 26 October 2026 and is expected to last six weeks.