Soldier Who Ran Towards Parsons Green Bomb Given Award for Bravery
Lt Col Craig Palmer receives Queen's Commendation after taking 'calculated risk'
An army officer who ran towards the bomb left on a District Line train at Parsons Green tube station 18 months ago has been awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery.
Lt Col Craig Palmer, 50, an officer with the Royal Regiment of Artillery, was among commuters on the train on 15 September 2017. When he realised there was a smouldering bomb on the train, he pushed through the crowd towards it and helped gather crucial evidence.
Lt Col Palmer, originally from Fairfield, Stockton-on-Tees, was two carriages away from the bomb, which had been planted by the Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmed Hassan, 18.
He went on to give evidence at Hassan’s trial, helping to secure a conviction.
Lt Col Palmer said: "As the train came into Parsons Green there was a flash and a commotion and lots of screams and people came charging down the platform running for the exits, but my instinct was to stand fast."
He said he had more than 26 years' military experience and previous terror attacks had "conditioned" him to act.
"I couldn’t see a terrorist, but I could see what I thought was a burning bomb and realised the terrorist must be on the run.
"I saw horrified people, schoolchildren, all running past me – and from my previous operational experience I knew that the first few moments after any incidents are crucial to gathering evidence.
"So I went into the carriage, there was no one else there, and I could see that there was a bomb in a Lidl carrier bag on the floor, so I took three pictures of it on my phone and left the carriage straight away to let the police know what I’d seen."
He added that the bomb was still releasing fumes and could have gone off at any moment.
Lt Col Palmer added that he understood he was taking a calculated risk and thought there was a 50% chance of survival had the bomb gone off fully.
The scene at Parsons Green Station after the bomb attack
At Hassan's trial at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave described him as "a very dangerous and devious individual " and told him: " I am satisfied that you were determined to cause as much death and carnage as possible."
Hassan was convicted of attempted murder and given a minimum term of 34 years.
April 9, 2019