A hospital patient who bravely talked a "lone-wolf terrorist" out of detonating a bomb in a maternity wing has revealed the would-be attacker "asked for a cuddle" before instructing him to "phone the police before I change my mind".
Nathan Newby, whose extraordinary act of kindness averted a potential atrocity, has spoken publicly for the first time ahead of receiving the George Medal for his bravery.
Mohammad Farooq was jailed last year for life with a minimum term of 37 years after bringing a homemade pressure cooker bomb into St James’s Hospital in Leeds. His intention was to "kill as many nurses as possible".
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, the judge who sentenced Farooq, lauded Mr Newby as "an extraordinary, ordinary man whose decency and kindness on January 20 2023 prevented an atrocity in a maternity wing of a major British hospital".
Mr Newby is set to receive the George Medal – the second-highest civilian gallantry award – for his life-saving actions this Wednesday.
Speaking before the ceremony, Mr Newby, 35, from Leeds, reflected that Farooq was "probably a nice guy" who was "going through bad things at the time".
He humbly described himself as someone who was "just in the right place at the right time".
A trial had previously heard that Farooq had become a "self-radicalised lone-wolf terrorist", inspired by the so-called Islamic State group. He targeted the hospital due to a long-running grievance with nurses on his ward, having previously worked there as a clinical support worker.
On the night Farooq planned his attack, Mr Newby was a patient at the hospital.
He had stepped outside for a vape and "a bit of fresh air" when he noticed Farooq, hands in pockets, "swaying like he’d had some bad news or something".
Mr Newby recounted his approach: "I just went over to see if he was alright, to see if I could make him feel better. I said: ‘How are you, pal? Are you alright?’ and it just went from there really."
About an hour into their conversation, Farooq eventually confessed he was there "for some sort of revenge" and revealed he had a bomb.
Mr Newby observed Farooq "constantly watching (his bag), it was about seven foot away from us, and every nurse that walked past it, he was like, looking at them, looking at the bag."
When asked what was inside, Farooq "ummed and aahed, didn’t want to, but then I got out of him. He just said it’s a bomb."
Mr Newby immediately understood the gravity of the situation: "I could hear it in his voice, it wasn’t a joke, or owt like that."
He then asked to see the device "just to confirm it, and then he just happily opened it up and showed me it." While "part of me" was scared, Mr Newby’s primary concern was to move Farooq away from the building.
"I wasn’t going to shout and things like that because it would have been nervous for others and just cause havoc, so I just thought, the best way is to keep quiet and just get him out of the way and be tactical about it."
He also revealed he was grappling with his own mental health struggles at the time, thinking: "If it goes off, it’s just going to be me and him, and I want to make sure it’s just me and him and not no one else."
He tactically inquired about the bomb’s radius and guided Farooq to nearby benches, calculating that "if it had have gone off at least, it would have just took the doors, it wouldn’t take the whole building out".
He described this quick thinking as "just pure instinct," adding: "I don’t know where it came from."
Over several hours, the pair "just chatted", with Farooq sharing details about his family and children.
Mr Newby recalled: "He asked for a cuddle a few times, and I said yeah, of course you can." He perceived Farooq as "normal", stating: "I don’t judge anybody. Everybody’s different and unique in their own ways aren’t they? I didn’t judge him."
Eventually, Farooq asked for a hug, called Mr Newby a "top guy", and then instructed him: "Phone the police before I change my mind."
Mr Newby admitted: "It was a bit of a relief, but at the end of the day he could have still changed his mind at any time, even if we were on the phone to the police or not."
The full enormity of what had transpired only truly hit him once he was in the back of a police van, after armed officers had arrived and detained Farooq.
"It started sinking in that it could have been different," he said. "Emotions started coming, it was like wow, as if that’s just happened."
During his call to the police, Mr Newby had described Farooq as someone who "seemed like a nice guy deep down".
When asked about his current feelings towards him, he reiterated: "He probably is a nice guy. It was just, his head was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would say he was just going through bad things at the time, and when you’re in that situation, your mind’s capable of doing all sorts of things that you don’t expect."
Despite his heroic actions, Mr Newby remains humble, not seeing himself as a hero but merely someone who was "just in the right place at the right time".
He concluded: "I only think about that night (now) if someone brings it up. And then it’s like, it’s crazy how it could have gone… I was a patient at the time, so I wouldn’t be here, because I was at the front of the building, so it would have took me out."
