2 August 2007
Gordon Brown has welcomed John Smeaton, the baggage handler who intervened in the Glasgow airport attack, to Downing Street.
The PM thanked Mr Smeaton for his bravery in tackling the driver of a blazing Jeep that crashed into the terminal building on 30 June. The driver, Kafeel Ahmed, and passenger Bilal Abdullah, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of carrying out a terrorist attack.
Mr Smeaton, from Renfrewshire, was later branded a hero and a website was set up in his honour with the aim of buying him 1,400 pints of beer. The 31-year-old later said he would give half the proceeds to the charity Erskine with the other half used to fund an event for all those caught up in the attack.
Greeting the airport worker in Downing Street’s White Room, Mr Brown said:
"John did not wait to act; he immediately went to help; he put his own life at risk. And all the time you were thinking of the women and children in the airport.
"These acts of heroism are already recognised by the people of this country."
Asked about what happened on 30 June, Mr Smeaton said that "the British people will not accept" such attac ks. "If you come to Britain people are going to stand up to you", he added.
Image copyright: Reuters
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