John Smeaton (born 1976)

This article is about the baggage handler involved in the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack. For the 18th century civil engineer, see John Smeaton.

John Smeaton QGM
Born	1976 Bishopton, Scotland
Occupation	Senior Ramp Assistant
Employer	Airway Handling (BAA)
Known for	Being one of the citizens to assist police during the apprehension of suspects on the 30th of June 2007 terrorist attack at Glasgow International Airport
Spouse	single

John Smeaton QGM (born Bishopton, Renfrewshire in 1976) was a Scottish baggage handler at Glasgow International Airport. He became involved in thwarting the 2007 Glasgow International Airport Attack. Smeaton lives in Erskine, Renfrewshire, a town outside the city and near the airport. Brought up in Erskine, he was educated at Park Mains High School.

Smeaton was a general bystander when he first witnessed the incident. He later recalled his first thoughts on being confronted by the two desperate suspects in a burning car as he smoked a cigarette during his break: "What's the score? I've got to get this sorted."

He added "I thought, 'That's not right,' and ran over to assist. All that was going through my mind was I've got to help the policeman, I'm not letting these guys get away with this."

It was reported that Smeaton shouted "fucking come on, then" and aimed a kick at Kafeel Ahmed, who later died from his 90% burns following the attack.

During the incident Smeaton also helped drag Michael Kerr to safety after Kerr, another person to intervene in the event, had been left lying with a broken leg beside the burning jeep after kicking Mr Ahmed himself.

The incident has been described as inspiring others to take the law into their own hands. Newsagent and former policeman Mohammed Afzah cited Smeaton as inspiration for his facing down and repelling a would-be armed robber.

In late July, Smeaton returned to his old job as a baggage handler at the airport. Later in the year he accepted a job as head of security at a nearby company.

On 18 December 2007, it was announced that Smeaton was to be awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his actions; this was presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 4 March 2008.

Television interviews

Following the attack, Smeaton gave television interviews to the BBC, ITV and CNN which were broadcast worldwide. There were numerous heroes on that day, but Smeaton has gained a fanbase of admirers.

The television interviews that brought him to the attention of the world were based around his own reaction to the attack.

• After he saw the police grappling with one of the attackers, he thought:

"You're no' hitting the Polis mate, there's nae chance."

• Describing his own actions:

"So I ran straight towards the guy, we're all trying to get a kick-in at him, take a boot to subdue the guy."

• Asked by ITV News what his message to terrorists was, he said:

"Glasgow doesn't accept this. This is Glasgow; we'll set about ye."

• In his News of the World interview, he said:

"If any more extremists are still wanting to rise up and start trouble, know this: We’ll rise right back up against you. New York, Madrid, London, Paisley … we’re all in this together and make no mistake, none of us will hold back from putting the boot in."

• The Sun interviewed him for its July 12 edition. One of his more telling quotes reads:

"Would you stop it with all this hero worship? Anyone else would have done exactly the same as me."

• From an interview with Scotland Today:

"If you see the law going down then you have to step up to the plate. I mean, at the end of the day, when the law falls, we fall."

Tribute website and media attention

A tribute website was set up in Smeaton's honour, which received 500,000 hits in its first 48 hours. The website urges visitors to buy a pint of beer for him; over 1000 pints were donated within two days. The BBC reported on the 18 July 2007 that John Smeaton has pledged half of the money donated for pints of beer to the veteran's charity Erskine, which cares for former servicemen and women at five homes throughout Scotland. The balance of the money will be used to fund a night out for those who also assisted at the incident at Glasgow Airport.

The website also called for Smeaton to make an appearance at the popular Scottish music festival, T in the Park. The website's creator said:

I watched the footage of John Smeaton and I just thought it was fantastic. He had the kind of unthinking, selfless heroism that most people wished they had.

He was due to take to the stage and perform a rendition of the classic Take The Power Back by Rage Against The Machine, however, organizers of the event have dampened down any talk of John taking a bow before his adoring fans. T in the Park organizer Geoff Ellis has said: “Through his actions at the weekend, John Smeaton absolutely epitomizes the spirit of Scotland that we are always so proud of at Tin the Park. However, due to heightened security and an incredibly tight performance schedule on the Main Stage at T in the Park this year, unfortunately we can’t allow him to get up on stage”

A Bebo group was also set up in dedication to Smeaton, called the John Smeaton Fan Club. Over 550 Bebo members had joined the club within 48 hours, and this page also received exposure in the Daily Record

A Facebook group called the John Smeaton Appreciation Society was also established with over 4,000 members; this refers to John as: Glasgow's Jack Bauer.

Smeaton was also the subject of a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal.

In the weeks after the attack, Smeaton made a variety of public appearances and interviews including appearing on the pitch at Ibrox Stadium before a football match and meeting Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street. He also appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

In September 2007 he started writing a column for the Scottish edition of The Sun newspaper every Thursday and was invited to appear at the World Trade Center ground zero for the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He also appeared on Richard and Judy.

On September 12 2007 he received an official audience with New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at New York City Hall. On September 24 2007 he attended the Labour Party Conference and his exploits were referred to by Gordon Brown in his speech. He also received a standing ovation from the crowd.

In the October 2007 edition of the men's magazine Loaded, John Smeaton revealed in an interview that he feared "a jihad or a fatwa being issued" against him, but added, "that would just be fate. I can't stop a bloke with an AK47. One thing is for certain, they'll have to kill me. They'll never take me alive." In the same month, Smeaton and other bystanders who intervened in the Glasgow International Airport attack were recognised at the Pride of Britain Awards.

Awards

On November 9 2007, Smeaton was one of four members of the public who were presented with Daily Mirror Pride of Britain awards.

November 18 2007 saw Smeaton voted as 3rd most eligible male in Scotland in Scotland on Sunday's Spectator magazine supplement, although it does note that, at 31, he still lives with his parents.

On December 6 2007 John Smeaton was presented a CNN Everyday Superhero Award in New York.

John Smeaton, the baggage handler hero of The Glasgow Airport terror attack.. who with several others, attacked the terrorists who attempted to blow up the crowded passenger terminal on June 30th..and who then himself became World Headline News when he was interviewed and declared to terrorists everywhere…

“DON’T COME TO GLASGOW! .. COS WE’LL SET ABOOT YE! ” .. and as a result became an internet phenomenon.

On December 18 2007 John Smeaton was awarded a Queen’s Gallantry Medal. In the same month Smeaton was named as one of the ten "Top Scots 2007" by Scotland on Sunday.

Doubts

In March 2008 however, reports began to circulate in the national press that Smeaton's involvement in the incident had been exaggerated, and that others, who had done more to restrain the attackers, had not been recognised with awards such as the Queen's Gallantry Medal. He denied claims that he was a fake and had already stated in 2007 that he felt the press were not giving enough credit to the others involved.

External links

• johnsmeaton.com
• A short documentary trying to find John Smeaton
• Smeaton interview from the Observer
• Smeaton interview with Loaded Magazine, by Jeff Maysh

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