A Yorkshire man who prevented a potential terrorist attack outside St James’ Hospital in Leeds has been awarded the George Medal for bravery, Counter Terrorism Policing announced.
Nathan Newby confronted and restrained Mohammed Farooq in 2023 after noticing his suspicious behaviour. Farooq was later found to be carrying a pressure cooker packed with explosives. Mr Newby talked him down and called police, leading to Farooq’s arrest and the prevention of what police described as a likely deadly attack.
In a statement, Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations Laurence Taylor, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said Mr Newby’s quick actions showed extraordinary courage. “That day, Mr Newby trusted his instincts and when coming nose to nose with a terrorist, he took actions that bravely prevented a deadly attack,” he said.
Taylor said the case illustrated the vital role the public can play in preventing terrorism, even though such direct intervention is never expected. “We often ask the public to help us in tackling terrorism. Mostly, that means reporting concerns about things they’ve seen or heard,” he said. “But sometimes, it both awfully and incredibly means playing a more physical role.”
He also referred to a recent incident in Crumpsall, Manchester, where worshippers reportedly acted to protect one another during an ongoing investigation into a suspected terrorist attack. “From what we know so far, worshippers in Crumpsall fiercely sought to protect one another that morning. For two men, Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, that meant they paid the ultimate price,” Taylor said.
“It is never policing’s expectation that the public should be prepared to play this role but when they do, it is vital that we recognise their courage,” he added. “To all those who step, or run, forward, with or without a uniform, thank you.”
The George Medal is one of the UK’s highest civilian honours, awarded for acts of great bravery.
Rather see these awards than someone being Knighted for kicking a ball.
I would rather not see knighthoods go to anyone for simply doing a hugely overpaid job.. personally I think they should be going to voluntary workers, public servants who go above and beyond ( especially with their modest salaries), people who do significant things for the public good that essentially were not done for significant financial reward… as far as I’m concerned it should be the lifeboat crews, the special constables, the charity worker, the ward manager who has worked 50-60 hour weeks ( while only being paid for 37.5) over a lifetime.. the teacher that runs the afterschool club etc..they guys who run a life saver club.
Totally.
I don’t remember hearing about this.
Final paragraph needs rewriting.
Fact is 2 men died and I realise that Mr Daulby was tragically killed by a Police bullet but they both put themselves in harms way to defend innocent people from am attacker. Also I don’t see anything wrong with it grammatically either so why does it need rewriting if it accurately reflects what was said ?
Hi Rodders, I was talking about the description of the award, apologies if I have misdirected.
It was ballsy what those two gentlemen did and indeed in the LNER conductor(?) should receive the same award as the bloke at the airport.
The award is posthumous and Mr Dalby and the injured man should be considered.
Well, depending on how you look at it, David Perry as well. I don’t think he got anything, apart from a gofund for locking the suicide bomber in his taxi before blowing himself up at the Liverpool women’s hospital car park, but really heading for a remembrance day service in 2021. Not to take away from the bravery of these guys.
The bit glossing over the effect of the police bullet(s) on those two brave men does need to be explained.
As it is a direct quote it cannot be rewritten.
However, responsible journalism doesn’t allow plod to airbrush their incompetence for using high velocity weapons without considering the backstop. It is pretty 101 to think where the bullet would end up. For instance if there was a crowd standing behind the target you immediately wouldn’t do certain things.
I’m sure plod will try and blame the incompetent ex plod who end up in College of Policing for their usual abysmally though through and poorly written nonsense.
The lefties want more Muslims… Now I can see why, it’s all to do with medals 💪💪👌👌🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧