A man accused of stabbing 10 passengers on a train failed to appear in court after refusing to join a video link from prison.

The incident took place on 1 November aboard a service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross, which stopped at Peterborough following multiple emergency calls. Eleven people were treated at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, all of whom have since been discharged.

Anthony Williams, 32, from Langford Road in Peterborough, is charged with 13 counts of attempted murder relating to the train attack, as well as other alleged assaults. He is accused of 21 offences in total, including possessing a bladed article, actual bodily harm to a police officer while in custody, and further attempted murders and assaults in Peterborough and east London in the days prior.

The 18:25 train service was diverted and stopped at Huntingdon, where Williams was arrested. At Cambridge Crown Court, he was represented by barrister Graham Arnold, but proceedings were adjourned after he refused to enter the video-link room from prison. The court has set a provisional trial date for 22 June, with hearings due to resume on 28 January.

Other allegations against Williams include attempted murder of a 14-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man in Peterborough, attempted wounding of a 28-year-old man, possession of a bladed instrument, affray at a local barbershop, theft of knives from a Stevenage supermarket, and common assault on a train between Hitchin and Biggleswade.

Image: British Transport Police