Latest news with #AngusCampbell
The Sun
18-07-2025
- The Sun
I looked Tube terrorist in the eye on 21/7 and knew he wanted mass murder – what happened next still haunts me 20 yrs on
WHEN terrorist Ramzi Mohammed tried to detonate a bomb on London's Northern Line, only one person was brave enough to face him down. Passenger Angus Campbell stood his ground in the smoke-filled train carriage and ordered the suicidal extremist to drop to the floor. 8 8 8 Amid the confusion, father-of-three Angus had originally mistaken Mohammed for a victim of the attack on July 21, 2005, and was about to reach out and help him. But after ushering mum Nadia Baro and her nine-month-old son to safety in the next carriage, he realised the man before him was responsible for the botched explosion in a tunnel close to Oval station, South London. Now — 20 years on from the attempted atrocity — Angus, 61, of nearby Tooting, recalled how his fury at Mohammed's bid to kill an innocent woman and child gave him the courage to fight back. He said: 'I realised, 'This is someone trying to commit mass murder', and it's difficult to describe the fear. 'But it's a hollowness, like butterflies in the bottom of your stomach. 'He got on the Tube and looked around and he must have seen he was in close proximity to a woman and child. He stood next to them and went bang. How is that a war? How do you justify that? 'He intended to kill women and children — what's that all about? 'That's not a fair fight, that's not courage. That's cowardice. How dare you be that cowardly.' 'Bolts and nails' Mohammed, then 23, and three accomplices were trying to replicate the 7/7 bombings that had left 52 dead two weeks earlier. They attempted to detonate devices on the Tube at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and just outside Oval station. A fourth device was intended to go off on the number 26 bus route in Haggerston, East London. But while the detonators on the devices fired, the main charges did not explode. As a result, there was only one reported injury. 7/7 survivor Dan Biddle and his rescuer Adrian interview The ensuing manhunt — described by the late Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair as 'the greatest operational challenge ever faced' by the Met — set off a chain of events that led to the tragic shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. He was mistaken for a would-be suicide bomber in one of the force's most notorious botched operations, shot and killed by officers at Stockwell Tube station on July 22, 2005. Within days, the real suspects were arrested and, two years later, Mohammed, along with Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yasin Hassan Omar and Hussain Osman, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder. Each was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 40 years. Angus's incredible courage in confronting Mohammed summed up the mood in the capital after the 2005 bombings as people united against terrorism — a defiance that inspired the We're Not Afraid campaign. On the day the terror plotters struck, firefighter Angus had been running slightly late to take a training day at Southwark fire station when he boarded the 'relatively empty' carriage at Tooting just after midday. As the train was rocked by Mohammed's malfunctioned blast, the hero set aside concerns for his own safety to sound the alarm — then confront the extremist himself. Describing the horrifying attack, Angus, who retired in 2015, said: 'There was just the woman in front of me with her buggy and the kid was messing around. 8 8 'She got cross with him and put him in the buggy and he didn't want to be in there. We stopped at Stockwell and quite a lot of people got on from the Victoria line, including the bomber. "The moment we entered the tunnel a bang went off and it really reverberated because we were in a confined space and the carriage filled with white smoke. 'People were running like you wouldn't believe and (the bomber) was screaming, but the buggy was caught between the stanchions and she couldn't move it. 'I got hold of the buggy and Nadia hit me, she was so panicked. I said, 'No, let me help you'. 'We untangled it and, if you look at the CCTV, you can see we are clinging to each other as we move backwards down the Tube. 'We got to the doors and I thought one man was going to help me, but he didn't, he skipped through. I pushed Nadia through the doors and then I turned round to go and help the man I now know as Ramzi Mohammed.' He had pulled the alarm as he ushered Nadia to the neighbouring carriage and the Tube slowed down. He intended to kill women and children — what's that all about? That's not a fair fight, that's not courage. That's cowardice The scene that then unfolded before Angus still haunts him. He explained: 'I slowly walked towards him (Mohammed) and I could smell what I thought was burning hair. 'He started getting really aggressive and said, 'I'm going to kill you' a number of times. 'I was shouting at him, 'Lie the f*** down'. He pointed at me and said, 'You are wrong and this is all wrong'. 'I looked down at the rucksack and saw this yellow mass popping and fizzing, and within that is nuts and bolts and nails. "I realised, 'OK this is serious'. I started taking big steps back and both doors had now shut so I really was on my own. "The train driver comes on the Tannoy and there was a little microphone, and I scream into it, 'It's me! Don't open the doors, we've got him, get the police'. 'The bomber starts kicking and prying at the doors and getting really aggressive when all of a sudden, the doors open and he goes.' 'Deprived of a dad' The confrontation became a key scene in this year's Disney+ drama, Suspect: The Shooting Of Jean Charles De Menezes. A day after the failed bombings, the 27-year-old was wrongly pinpointed as one of the terrorists and tailed by cops, before officers fatally shot him in the head at Stockwell. Angus has fretted that if the train doors had not opened, and if he had managed to detain Mohammed, de Menezes' life might have been spared. But he refuses to blame London Underground for what happened. He said: 'All I had to do was hold on to him, and someone on the platform might have been able to help me keep him there, but I doubt it. He was young and scared and he took off. 8 'Everyone says, 'Why didn't you tw*t him on the nose?'. But I was really frightened, and it's important to have the balls to admit that. I was scared, of course I was. It was frustrating they opened the doors because we had him. 'He wasn't going to come past me and get back to the passengers he had already tried to kill. 'He was trapped and I was bigger than him. I looked down at the rucksack and saw this yellow mass popping and fizzing, and within that is nuts and bolts and nails. I realised, 'OK this is serious' 'As he ran away I shouted, 'Stop him,' and a few people tried. One old boy tried to trip him up and another geezer tried to grab him. 'Good for them, but he was long gone.' Acknowledging how devastating the consequences could have been if Mohammed's bomb had detonated, Angus said: 'I should be part of the Northern Line. 'I would have been sprayed all over that carriage, we were that close. 'My youngest son was six weeks old on July 21 and I would never have known him and he would never have known me. 'He's now 20 and doing fine at university and having a fantastic life, but he would have been denied a parent for all that time if Ramzi Mohammed had succeeded. "That's awful, isn't it? He would have been deprived of a dad and my wife and children would have suffered hugely if I had been taken away from them. 'To be denied 20 years just because of someone's ideology — it's not right and, with hindsight, there is real anger. 'I think, 'What gives you the right to do this to others and me? I've done nothing to you'.' Angus, who was reunited with Nadia at the would-be bombers' 2007 trial, now works as a tour guide in the capital. Not only does he regularly take the Tube, he often sits in the exact spot where he could have died. He said: 'I get the Tube all the time and I often sit in the same seat, third carriage down, main doors, second seat on the right. 'I think it's important because, if I was to avoid it, that means he's winning, doesn't it? I get the Tube all the time and I often sit in the same seat, third carriage down, main doors, second seat on the right. I think it's important because, if I was to avoid it, that means he's winning, doesn't it? 'Sometimes, it can be difficult. If someone gets on the Tube with a big rucksack and sits in close proximity to me, I can get fidgety. 'And it takes huge self-discipline not to get up and move myself away. 'But sitting in that seat is winning. If you change your behaviour, then they win.' Angus, who thanked The Sun for commending his bravery in our leaders column, added: 'We British are quite reserved, but there's something about us. 'It's called backbone, and we've got a lot of that, we really have." 8 8
The Guardian
07-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Australian universities urge Albanese to join New Zealand in $170bn Europe fund amid Trump attacks on education
Australian universities are urging the Albanese government to join New Zealand in a $170bn Europe research fund amid US president Donald Trump's sweeping crackdown on higher education and international students. Universities Australia's executive officer, Luke Sheehy, travelled to Brussels this week to meet representatives from the European Commission and the Australian ambassador, Angus Campbell, to discuss the possibility of joining Horizon Europe. The seven-year scientific collaborative research fund, with a budget of €95.5bn ($168bn), has 20 non-European partners – including New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada – but the Australian government has so far been reluctant to join. Industry insiders have attributed the government's reluctance to potential costs. New Zealand will pay €19m ($33m) over five years to be part of the program. The EU is drawing up strategies for the next seven-year funding cycle, due to begin in 2028, with a proposal expected to be announced mid-year. About €36bn ($63bn) is still available to the end of 2027. In comparison, Australia's total annual spend on research across all sectors is less than $40bn. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Sheehy said in a rapidly changing global environment, association with the body would give Australian researchers access to a mega-fund and support international collaboration on key sectors, including health and the environment. 'Growing geopolitical uncertainties are threatening to reshape our existing research alliances and we must adapt to remain ahead of the game,' he said. 'If we're serious about building a prosperous and productive economy, we need a seat at the table, particularly in a changing and more complex global environment.' The trade minister, Don Farrell, is in Paris this week restarting negotiations on a trade deal with the EU. Sheehy 'strongly encourage[d]' him to make Australia's involvement in Horizon Europe a focus of conversations. 'There is a strong appetite in Europe to have Australia come on board,' Sheehy said. 'This would remove the biggest roadblock for Australian researchers and scientists working with their European and other counterparts around the world. It's mutually beneficial. 'For what is a relatively modest investment, our best and brightest would gain access to billions of dollars in potential funding to take their work to the next level.' The higher eduction sector has closely focussed on Horizon Europe since the Trump administration was accused of possible 'foreign interference' in Australia's universities in March, pausing funding for programs at more than six universities. Researchers who receive US funding were sent a questionnaire asking them to confirm they aligned with US government interests and promoted administration priorities – including avoiding 'DEI, woke gender ideology and the green new deal'. Australia's Group of Eight CEO, Vicki Thomson, wrote to then-industry minister, Ed Husic, earlier this year on behalf of its member universities and the European Australian Business Council (EABC) CEO, Jason Collins, urging Australia to associate with the research fund. It has prepared a brief for the ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, at his request. Thomson, also the EABC deputy chair, has lobbied the government to join Horizon Europe for more than a decade. She will be meeting with stakeholders for negotiations in the next fortnight as part of an EABC delegation to Europe. Thomson said association with Horizon Europe was 'critical' to boosting productivity and providing essential buffers against negative global trends. 'Like trade, changes to the global research funding environment are also sending shocks around the world,' she said. 'The US is withdrawing from international research collaboration through the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies as well as defunding research in diversity, equity and inclusion. 'In the face of this, it is imperative that Australia maintains and extends international research collaboration through formal association with Horizon Europe.' The Australian Academy of Science president, Prof Chennupati Jagadish AC, also wants Australia to join the lucrative research fund, pointing to a possible research vacuum in the face of an increasingly unstable US. In April, the body announced a new global talent attraction program to capitalise on academics disfranchised by the Trump administration's research cuts. Americans represent 40% of collaborators in Australian physical sciences publications – including observational systems relied on for cyclone tracking capability and onshore mRNA vaccine manufacturing. Jagadish said the government must 'immediately act to diversify risk' by expanding international research collaborations, focusing on Horizon Europe. The industry minister, Madeleine King, was approached for comment.
Scotsman
25-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Rare tuna fishing licence given to Scottish boat with eyes on Tokyo market
Bluefin tuna have been making a comeback to British waters Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A skipper from a Scottish island is one of a select few in the UK to have been granted a licence for tuna fishing. Angus Campbell, from Harris, is one of 15 fishers to be issued a commercial licence to catch bluefin tuna, which are showing a 'heartening resurgence', according to the Marine Conservation Society. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Only a handful of licences, which last a year, are given out by the UK Government's Marine Management Organisation (MMO) due to the need to protect and conserve the species, which has previously been in decline due to overfishing. Angus Campbell pictured left with fellow fisherman from Devon, Andy, onboard Harmony | Katharine Hay For 2025, the UK has some 66 tonnes of bluefin tuna quota, of which 45 will be shared among the licence holders. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Campbell's threshold of three tonnes will be landed at Leverburgh, to the south of the island, which will open up fishing to the west of the Hebrides where he said the tuna are of a higher quality. The skipper had previously been restricted to Stornoway, on the east of Lewis, when he was given a licence two years ago. This, in turn, will make the catch more marketable to high end customers in the UK, but also markets in Tokyo where bluefin is highly sought after, he said. Angus Campbell's boat, Harmony, which is based out of Leverburgh | Katharine Hay Mr Campbell, who has held a catch-and-release licence for bluefin, which helps with research projects on the migratory fish, said he is 'very excited to be back in commercial fishing.' He said: 'Landing at Leverburgh gives us the opportunity to work out west and we are hoping to get a better quality of fish than was accessible when we could only land at Stornoway. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It has to be of very good quality to send it abroad. We are looking at local and UK markets and have plans set up to go as far as Tokyo. We had it all set up last year but unfortunately didn't get a licence.' Mr Campbell, who also runs Kilda Cruises, operates the vessel 'Harmony' which can carry up to 12 passengers and is also used for angling trips. Demand for licences from around the UK was described as 'exceptionally high.' While bluefin have made a comeback to UK waters, particularly the English Channel and the southwest coast of England, catching them for commercial purposes is limited for conservation reasons. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Although no official list of the fresh round of license holders has been published yet, it is thought that Mr Campbell's is the only one in Scotland. Duncan Macinnes, secretary of the Western Isles Fishermen's Association, said the licence for Leverburgh will 'give flexibility to the grounds where we know larger tuna are migrating to.' He added: 'We have been saying for years that there is potential for a well-managed tuna fishery in the Outer Hebrides which could have a real economic impact. 'This is an important step towards that and the fact that landings can take place at Leverburgh as well as Stornoway is a really significant development'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Conservation efforts and changes in climate have brought bluefin back to UK waters. In 2023, the UK Government gave the greenlight for some fishing boats to be given one year-long commercial licences as part of a trial to evaluate the sustainability of a small scale bluefin tuna fishery.
