Man hugs terrorist to stop him from bombing hospital

A hospital patient, who talked a suicide bomber down at St James' Hospital in Leeds in 2023, has been honoured with a George Medal from King Charles. 

World news correspondent Adam Gilchrist reports that Nathan Newby stepped outside the hospital for a vape when he spotted an agitated Mohammad Farooq.

Newby said he spent two hours talking to Farooq, a trainee nurse at the hospital, trying to convince him to abandon his plan. 

“I hate going into hospitals, but on that day, I was in there for a reason, and it was not to get better; I was in there because that was happening,” he said in his first interview.

"He [Farooq] asked me to stand up and give him a hug, so I said 'yeah, have a hug mate'. And then he said, 'Right, I want you to phone the police before I change my mind'."

Farooq was later convicted of preparing acts of terrorism and was jailed for a minimum of 37 years.

To listen to Gilchrist in conversation with 702’s Bongani Bingwa, use the audio player below: