Man accused of mass stabbings in Huntingdon train attack charged with ABH for alleged assault that took place weeks earlier

Published: 11:58, 8 July 2026 | Updated: 11:58, 8 July 2026 The man accused of the Huntingdon train attack has been charged with an alleged violent assault that took place weeks earlier. Anthony Williams, 33, is facing ten attempted murder counts following the mass stabbings on a Doncaster to London’s King’s Cross service on November 1 last year. He had also been charged with three other attempted murders and a number of other charges relating to separate incidents. It has now emerged Williams has been charged with actual bodily harm for an incident that left a man with facial injuries. Alleged victim Ricky Butcher, 36, needed 15 stitches after he was allegedly attacked at random while waiting for a minicab home following a night out in Peterborough on September 27. The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an inquiry into the case in January this year after Mr Butcher, an electrician, complained he had received a text message from Cambridgeshire Police just two days after the incident saying they were closing the case as there was insufficient evidence to make an arrest likely. The watchdog announced yesterday that two constables were to face gross misconduct hearings over the matter. One is accused of failing to carry out appropriate enquiries after receiving a report about the attack. Anthony Williams, 33, has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm after Ricky Butcher, 36, pictured, allegedly suffered facial injuries in an attack in Peterborough The officer and a fellow constable are then said to have concealed this by falsely claiming that no CCTV was available, as well as including inaccurate information in a crime report. Williams was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm while the IOPC enquiry was ongoing but details didn’t emerge until the Mail made enquiries this week. A Cambridgeshire Constabulary spokesman confirmed Williams was ‘charged with ABH on April 24’ in relation to the alleged assault on Mr Butcher. The IOPC began an investigation into the case after a referral from Cambridgeshire Police on November 10. It came days after Mr Butcher told the Mail: ‘It's absolute madness the police closed my case so quickly without seemingly having a proper trawl through CCTV and making the relevant inquiries. 'I think the police should have treated my case with much more importance and diligence.' In a statement yesterday, the IOPC’s director of engagement, Emily Barry, said: 'While we have found the officers will face disciplinary proceedings, it will be for the force to organise the hearing and its misconduct panel to determine whether, based on the evidence, the allegations of gross misconduct are proven. 'The parties involved have been notified of our decision.' Williams faces ten attempted murder charges in relation to the Huntingdon train attack and other charges, including three more attempted murders, to do with other alleged incidents Emergency service workers on the platform at Huntingdon train station on November 1 last year Numerous people were stabbed on the LNER service last November, forcing the train to make an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon railway station at 7.44pm. Armed police stormed the site within minutes as passengers fled to safety and it remained closed the following day as forensic teams scoured carriages and the platform. Williams was later charged with the attempted murder of nine passengers and a train buffet worker. The other charges he faces include the attempted murder of a passenger on a train at Pontoon Dock DLR station in Silvertown, east London, on November 1. There are also attempted murder counts relating to alleged attacks on a 14-year-old boy on a footbridge above Henry Penn Walk, Peterborough, and on William Ogelby, 22, in the Rail World car park, Peterborough, on October 31. An attempted wounding charge follows an alleged assault on Dawid Taborski, 28, on the footbridge above Henry Penn Walk. Williams, of Peterborough, also faces a count of affray at a barber's in the city on October 31 and the theft of a ‘four-pack of kitchen knives to the value of £15’ from an Asda store in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on October 31. Those who Williams is accused of attacking on the train which stopped at Huntingdon include hero Nottingham Forest fan Stephen Crean, 61, of Wimbledon, south London, who was stabbed repeatedly while trying to save other passengers. Armed police and other emergency workers were scrambled to the scene after the train made an unscheduled stop to allow passenger off Forensic teams recorded evidence at the station, which remained closed the following day Others are Scunthorpe United player Jonathan Gjoshe, 22, and rail buffet worker Samir Zitouni, 48, who is understood to have used a frying pan grabbed from the galley kitchen to battle him off so passengers could flee to safety. A court hearing in February heard Williams was psychotic and had been transferred to a psychiatric intensive unit. A further hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on April 14 was told he was now fit to plead at a later date but the trial date would have to be delayed while other psychiatric assessments are carried out. The case had been due to go before a jury on June 22 but it is now expected to start on October 26. A case management hearing is scheduled to take place at the court tomorrow.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.