Soldier who rushed towards Parsons Green bomb given bravery award

An army officer who rushed towards a smouldering bomb at Parsons Green tube station has been given an award for bravery.

Lt Col Craig Palmer, 50, leapt into action following an explosion on the District line train in London on 15 September 2017. Palmer, who was on his morning commute, pushed through the crowd towards the bomb and helped gather crucial evidence.

He is one of several soldiers to be awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Bravery, the Ministry of Defence announced.

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.

The Royal Regiment of Artillery officer went on to give evidence at Hassan’s trial, helping to secure a conviction. Hassan is serving a life sentence.

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,” he said.

“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.”

Palmer said the bomb was still releasing fumes and could have gone off at any moment. He said he understood he was taking a calculated risk and thought there was a 50% chance of survival had the bomb gone off fully.

Other soldiers to be honoured include Acting Lance Cpl Jacob Francis Campbell Fisher, who was given a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service.

Fisher saved the lives of several Somali soldiers on 25 February 2018, when he was part of an operation to help train troops in the African country.

Lance Cpl Lewis Staton, 30, was awarded an MBE for his work in a team training the Ethiopian national defence force and other soldiers from the African United Mission. Staton, from Wirral, Merseyside, who is in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, said receiving the honour “still hasn’t sunk in”.