Defiant London Bridge terrorism witness goes viral with pledge to flirt with handsome men and drink gin
A survivor of the London Bridge attack has gone viral with his defiant pledge in the face of terror.
Richard Angell recalled being “six metres” from an attacker during the attack on Saturday night.
Angell had been enjoying dinner with friends in the neighbouring restaurant to one targetted by the Islamist extremists, sat at the table closest to the door.
Despite being so near to the unfolding scenes of terror of London’s streets, the 33-year-old returned to the scene the next day with a defiant message.
He told BBC News: “If me having a G&T in a nice bar, flirting with handsome men, upsets them – I’m going to do it more,” he said.
“I’ll be going back to the same restaurant to finish my meal, pay my bill and give then a double tip. They cared about us and our safety.”
Brilliant & defiant interview from someone who was in a restaurant attacked last night here in London. The right response from a tough city. pic.twitter.com/iyZT8V63Vc
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) June 4, 2017
Angell, an LGBT rights campaigner and director of a left-leaning think tank, has now urged Londoners to not be cowed by the actions of the extremists.
Recalling the night’s terrifying events, he toldThe Mirror: “The waiter jammed his foot in the door to make sure it stayed closed, people were turning over tables and chairs to take cover,” he said.
“I looked up and there was this guy throwing an entire table at somebody. This heroic guy who saw what was happening and started bombarding these cowardly people with anything he could get his hands on.
“A guy walked from the restaurant next door holding his neck or chest, covered in blood.
“I was looking after a pregnant woman, she was my priority, she needed a seat and some water as we tried to piece together what was happening. We were clearly in the middle of something serious.
“Police turned up, we heard two shots go off, then more went off.
“After about 30 minutes they started to evacuate us.
“We saw as we left people had discarded belongings. Women’s shoes had been left where they had clearly been running.”