London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

Poland to give London Bridge hero chef ‘Lucasz’ a medal for taking down terrorist with a narwhal tusk

Poland to give London Bridge hero chef ‘Lucasz’ a medal for taking down terrorist with a narwhal tusk

THE brave chef who fought off a knife-wielding terrorist with a 5ft narwhal tusk will be honoured with a medal, it has been revealed.

The hero, who is believed to be a Polish chef by the name Lukasz, was released from hospital today after he courageously helped bring down convicted terrorist Usman Khan with others on London Bridge on Friday.

Khan, 28, was shot dead by police after he went on a rampage in a fake suicide vest and stabbed a man and a woman to death and putting another three in hospital.

A work-mate told had told The Sunday Mirror: Lukasz was in the hospital.

It is unclear if he was one of the three people taken to the Royal London Hospital in East London along with two other women.

Dr Vin Diwakar, Medical Director for the NHS in London, said today one person had been released from the hospital and two others remain in stable condition.

Lukasz, who works in the kitchen at Fishmongers' Hall where Khan's attack started, is set to be honoured with the Medal for Sacrifice and Courage for "risking his own life" for "helping to overpower the terrorist".

Jan Kanthak, a spokesman for the ruling United Poland party, tweeted that the minister will be putting in a request to President Andrzej Duda.

He added: "Łukasz's heroism has an international dimension."

Warsaw foreign ministry sources told Polish media Lukasz has been released from hospital, the MailOnline reports.

It is understood Polish diplomats are now said to be inc contact with UK police.

Authorities are not releasing Lukasz's full name for his protection.


FRIDAY'S HEROES

Cambridge graduate Jack Merritt, a 25-year-old course coordinator, is the first victim to be named after his grieving father paid tribute to his son as a "beautiful spirit".

Three people, one man and two women, were rushed to hospital on Friday night - and one was in critical condition, one was stable and a third had less serious injuries.

NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens said yesterday that the one patient who was in critical condition has improved and the condition of the other two was the same.

It comes after a woman, who did not give her name,said a woman in her 20s had "slash wounds on her arms and stomach" and a man had to be put in an induced coma.

Lukasz is one of several bystanders who risked their lives to bring down the London Bridge terrorist.

Another hero is a kitchen porter named only as Mohammed who is said to have tackled Khan on his lunch break before going back to wash dishes.

Two other men who helped to catch the attacker were fearless tour guides Thomas Gray, 24, and Stevie Hurst who jumped out of their car to help.

Prisoner James Ford, 42, helped take down Khan while he was on day release.

Ford murdered a 21-year-old disabled girl in 2004 and was at an event about rehabilitating criminals when he stepped in.

A British Transport police officer in plain clothes bravely picked up one of the knives from the floor and carried it away from the attacker.

Khan, from Staffordshire, was freed last December and police said he was "known to authorities" after he was convicted in 2012 for terror offences.

He was banned from entering London but had a one-day exemption to attend an ex-convict event, it emerged last night.

Khan, who was wearing a monitoring tag during the attack, was attending an event on Friday afternoon at Fishmonger’s Hall called ‘Learning Together’.

The killer "hoodwinked" authorities by travelling to the prisoner rehabilitation conference at Fishmongers' Hall where he launched his horror rampage.

One academic who was there told the Mail On Sunday that Khan "suddenly just flipped".

The Sun on Sunday revealed Khan was given “special permission” to attend the Cambridge University-run event.
The callous killer attended the morning session before returning after lunch to launch his rampage armed with two knives and a fake explosive vest.

Haunting pictures emerged of delegates inside the hall an hour before the carnage. Khan was said to be in the room at the time.

He is the first freed terrorist to launch an attack in this country.

The Parole Board said in a statement yesterday they had "no involvement" in Khan's release.

It added it he appeared "to have been released automatically on licence (as required by law), without ever being referred to the Board".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
UK Reaffirms Military Support for Ukraine Despite Russian Hybrid Warfare Threats
UK Technology Sector Expands Nearly 8 Percent as Digital Industry Outpaces Wider Economy
UK Drought Threatens Harvests Across England and Wales as Food Inflation Risks Persist
UK Government Pledges 442 Million Pounds to End Rough Sleeping by Christmas
UK Government Signals Willingness to Reconsider Digital Services Tax Amid US Tariff Threats
×