Man who talked down hospital bomber says would-be attacker asked for a cuddle

Nathan Newby has spoken publicly for the first time about his encounter with Mohammad Farooq at ST James hospital in Leeds in 2023. Photograph: Bruce Rollinson/PA

A hospital patient who managed to talk a man out of detonating a bomb in a maternity wing said the would-be attacker “asked for a cuddle” before standing down.

Nathan Newby, who stopped an atrocity through an act of kindness, spoke publicly for the first time about his encounter with Mohammad Farooq before receiving the George Medal for bravery.