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| David Cameron honours woman who kept Woolwich suspect talking | David Cameron honours woman who kept Woolwich suspect talking |
| (4 months later) | |
| As he stood outside No 10 on Thursday morning to reflect on the previous day's events in Woolwich, David Cameron paid tribute to the "incredible" – but often necessarily unreported – heroism of the police and intelligence services. | As he stood outside No 10 on Thursday morning to reflect on the previous day's events in Woolwich, David Cameron paid tribute to the "incredible" – but often necessarily unreported – heroism of the police and intelligence services. |
| But in a speech that stressed the importance of unity in the aftermath of an attack "on the British way of life", the prime minister singled out one person as an exemplar of cool-headed resilience and courage: Ingrid Loyau-Kennett. | But in a speech that stressed the importance of unity in the aftermath of an attack "on the British way of life", the prime minister singled out one person as an exemplar of cool-headed resilience and courage: Ingrid Loyau-Kennett. |
| On Wednesday afternoon, the 48-year-old Cub Scout leader from Helston, Cornwall, was just another visitor to London, sitting on the bottom deck of a bus bound for Victoria coach station as it passed along John Wilson street in Woolwich, south-east London. | On Wednesday afternoon, the 48-year-old Cub Scout leader from Helston, Cornwall, was just another visitor to London, sitting on the bottom deck of a bus bound for Victoria coach station as it passed along John Wilson street in Woolwich, south-east London. |
| When she looked through the window and spotted someone lying in the road near a crashed car, she decided to leave the bus and see if she could offer first aid. She could not have known that she was walking into a terrorist attack, nor that her subsequent actions would come to be hailed as the perfect moral counterpoint to those of the two men who had just stabbed and hacked a soldier to death. | When she looked through the window and spotted someone lying in the road near a crashed car, she decided to leave the bus and see if she could offer first aid. She could not have known that she was walking into a terrorist attack, nor that her subsequent actions would come to be hailed as the perfect moral counterpoint to those of the two men who had just stabbed and hacked a soldier to death. |
| After checking on the victim for a pulse and finding none, she was confronted by an excitable man wearing a black beanie hat and holding a revolver. He told her not to get too close to the body. | After checking on the victim for a pulse and finding none, she was confronted by an excitable man wearing a black beanie hat and holding a revolver. He told her not to get too close to the body. |
| Yet rather than back off, Loyau-Kennett chose to talk to the man. She asked him the reason for his actions and tried to distract him from the onlookers who had begun to gather nearby. | Yet rather than back off, Loyau-Kennett chose to talk to the man. She asked him the reason for his actions and tried to distract him from the onlookers who had begun to gather nearby. |
| "I didn't really feel anything," she told the Guardian. "I was not scared because he was not drunk; he was not on drugs. I could speak to him and he wanted to speak, and that's what we did." | "I didn't really feel anything," she told the Guardian. "I was not scared because he was not drunk; he was not on drugs. I could speak to him and he wanted to speak, and that's what we did." |
| The man told her that he had killed the soldier because British soldiers had killed Muslim women and children in Iraq and Afghanistan. | The man told her that he had killed the soldier because British soldiers had killed Muslim women and children in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| "And I said, OK. So what would you like? I tried to make him talk about how he felt," Loyau-Kennett told ITV Daybreak on Thursday morning. | "And I said, OK. So what would you like? I tried to make him talk about how he felt," Loyau-Kennett told ITV Daybreak on Thursday morning. |
| She added: "More and more people were starting to come. There were so many people around. I just looked around and I found it so daunting." | She added: "More and more people were starting to come. There were so many people around. I just looked around and I found it so daunting." |
| She carried on talking to the man in the hope that he would leave the crowd and the soldier's body alone. "I wanted him to concentrate on me and make sure he doesn't have a funny idea." | She carried on talking to the man in the hope that he would leave the crowd and the soldier's body alone. "I wanted him to concentrate on me and make sure he doesn't have a funny idea." |
| She told the programme that she remained unafraid and was glad his focus was on her rather than anyone else. | She told the programme that she remained unafraid and was glad his focus was on her rather than anyone else. |
| "Better me than a child," she said. "Unfortunately there were more and more mothers with children stopping around, so it was even more important I was talking to him and [asking] him what he wanted." | "Better me than a child," she said. "Unfortunately there were more and more mothers with children stopping around, so it was even more important I was talking to him and [asking] him what he wanted." |
| When the man told her the aim of the attack had been to bring war to the streets of London, she warned him that the odds were not in his favour. | When the man told her the aim of the attack had been to bring war to the streets of London, she warned him that the odds were not in his favour. |
| She told the Daily Telegraph: "I said, 'right now it is only you versus many people, you are going to lose – what would you like to do?' And he said, 'I would like to stay and fight'." | She told the Daily Telegraph: "I said, 'right now it is only you versus many people, you are going to lose – what would you like to do?' And he said, 'I would like to stay and fight'." |
| After trying to persuade the man's quieter companion to give her the knife he was holding, she asked if there was anything more she could do before her bus left. He told her there wasn't, so she went back to the bus. | After trying to persuade the man's quieter companion to give her the knife he was holding, she asked if there was anything more she could do before her bus left. He told her there wasn't, so she went back to the bus. |
| A few seconds later, she saw a police car pull up and watched as the men she had just spoken to were shot as they ran towards the armed officers. | A few seconds later, she saw a police car pull up and watched as the men she had just spoken to were shot as they ran towards the armed officers. |
| In the following hours and in a series of interviews and articles yesterday, Loyau-Kennett found herself fêted as a hero for her calm and matter-of-fact selflessness. | In the following hours and in a series of interviews and articles yesterday, Loyau-Kennett found herself fêted as a hero for her calm and matter-of-fact selflessness. |
| When the prime minister talked about Britain having a shared duty to confront extremism, the Cub Scout leader from Cornwall was the example he chose: "Told by the attacker he wanted to start a war in London, she replied, 'you're going to lose, it's only you versus many'." | When the prime minister talked about Britain having a shared duty to confront extremism, the Cub Scout leader from Cornwall was the example he chose: "Told by the attacker he wanted to start a war in London, she replied, 'you're going to lose, it's only you versus many'." |
| With those few words, he said, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett had spoken "for us all". | With those few words, he said, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett had spoken "for us all". |
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