'I hugged armed man to stop him bombing hospital'

A patient who intervened to prevent a bombing at a hospital has revealed he hugged the man who was planning the attack to help calm him down.

Nathan Newby spent two hours persuading "lone-wolf terrorist" Mohammad Farooq to abandon his plan at St James' Hospital in Leeds, where Farooq worked, in 2023.

In his first interview, Newby said: "I hate going into hospitals but on that day, I was in there for a reason and it was not to get better; I was in there because that was happening."

Farooq was later convicted of preparing acts of terrorism and was jailed for a minimum of 37 years. Newby, 35, will later receive the George Medal, which recognises brave civilian acts.

Newby, who was being treated for a chest infection at the time, said he approached Farooq outside the maternity ward after spotting him fidgeting and looking anxious.

"He looked out of place so I went over to see if he was alright, to see if I could cheer him up," he explained.

"He was watching a bag all the time which was six feet away."

Newby, from Leeds, persuaded Farooq to open it up and show him the contents - a pressure cooker bomb with 10kg of explosives.

A trial at Sheffield Crown Court heard the bomb was estimated to be "double the size" of the device used in the 2013 Boston Marathon attack, which killed three and injured hundreds.

"I thought there's no way of getting away now so I might as well stay with the guy," Newby said.

"If I'd have run away he would have panicked.

"I stuck with him, trying to take his mind off what he wanted to do, get to know him and what he was thinking and see if I could change it."

Farooq had been employed as a nursing assistant at the hospital but was described in court as "a self-radicalised lone-wolf terrorist".

Jurors heard he had a grievance against colleagues and wanted to "kill as many nurses as possible" at the time of the planned attack in the early hours of 20 January 2023.

Newby asked Farooq about the potential radius of an explosion and managed to persuade him to move away from the building's entrance.

"The hospital is normally busy, people in and out all night," he said.

"There was no one there at all, it was just me and him. There was no one there I could send a signal to."

The court heard Farooq had watched "anti-West propaganda" on social media and had downloaded terrorist handbooks, including one on how to make a bomb.

After his arrest, police discovered he was armed with knives and an imitation gun.

Newby described how he talked to Farooq at length about his own problems to try to make him feel better about himself.

"He asked me to stand up and give him a hug, so I said, 'yes, have a hug mate'.

"He then said, 'I want you to phone the police before I change my mind'."

Newby asked Farooq if he could use his phone to call the emergency services because his own had run out of battery, with Newby subtly filming Farooq during the conversation after the call handler initiated a mobile app.

During the phone call, he asked Farooq if he had any other weapons and Farooq unzipped his jacket to produce the imitiation gun, which Newby asked him to put on a bench.

Armed police arrived shortly afterwards and Farooq was arrested.

The court heard how Farooq's first target was RAF Menwith Hill, a spy base near Harrogate which is operated by US and UK staff.

When he thought that was not possible, jurors were told Farooq switched to the "softer and less well-protected target" of St James' Hospital.

The judge at the trial, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, described Newby as an "extraordinary man" and said his evidence was "amongst the most remarkable the court has ever heard".

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said Newby's "simple act of kindness almost certainly saved many lives".

Det Supt Paul Greenwood, head of investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said he had never seen an attack so narrowly averted.

Speaking after Farooq was convicted, Greenwood said: "He was the right person in the right place at the right time, because most people wouldn't have done what he did."

"When I got back in my room in hospital and laid on the bed, that's when it all hit me," Newby recalled.

"It's just crazy that if I hadn't been in hospital, if I hadn't got that chest infection and been rushed to hospital, I'd have been at home, he would have gone for it and I would have been seeing it on the news."

The George Medal is granted in recognition of acts of great bravery, with Newby due to receive it during a ceremony at St James' Palace in London.

It is primarily a civilian award, but it may be awarded to military personnel for gallant conduct that is not in "the face of the enemy".

He said the honour was "a lot to take in" but admitted feeling "proud at saving lives".

"I like to think that anybody would do that," he added.

"Some people are strong and some people handle things in different ways but it's just me, it's just how I am."