Wayne Marques, speaking ahead of one-year anniversary of terror attack, says he can now walk unaided

A police officer who was stabbed in the head while fighting off the three London Bridge attackers with a baton has said he hopes to return to work next month.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s one-year anniversary of the terrorist attack, Wayne Marques said he had made significant progress and was able to walk by himself again.

The British Transport Police (BTP) officer suffered major injuries during the attack after also being stabbed in the leg and hand. The knife wound to his head left him temporarily blinded in one eye but he has previously said the adrenaline prevented him from realising how badly he had been injured.

Marques said he still had some way to go in his recovery but hoped to return to work next month.

Policeman tells how he fought London Bridge attackers with baton Read more

“I’ve made significant progress obviously since that night,” he said. “I’m much more independent, much more able. I’m standing, I’m walking, I’m talking. I’m able to socialise again, see family and friends.”

He said his family had concerns about his return to work but said: “It’s a job that I enjoy. It’s who I am, to be honest.”

Marques had to undergo a series of operations and spent almost three weeks in hospital after the attack. He said that messages of support from the public had helped him stay positive.

He described the public response as overwhelming. “You go through these stages where you’re stuck in a bed and you’ve got this time to keep thinking about things,” he said in a video interview released by BTP. “Then you get these messages from people who have just heard about you. You’ve never met them and you never will, in most cases. But just genuine, heartfelt, caring messages.”



Marques said he felt the longer he was away from work, the harder it would be to go back but that he had to be realistic about what he could do. He said he was currently trying to build up the left side of his body and increase his running ability.

He referred to setbacks, including a loss of muscle power and endurance and grip strength caused by the cold weather in March and said he was learning what he could and could not do.

“I am just trying to get as much of me back as possible,” said Marques. “I’ve still got far to go but I am on my way.”

Youssef Zaghba, Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane killed eight people during the attack. They deliberately drove a van into people on London Bridge before stabbing people in Borough Market, where all three were shot dead by police.

The Guardian has learned that BTP are reviewing the number of armed officers they have and where they should be deployed, following the experience of their officer facing terrorists unarmed and suffering extensive injuries.

BTP are setting up two new armed counter-terrorism centres in Birmingham and Manchester, with officers already armed at stations in London. One option, among several being examined, is making them the first British police force that directly protects the public to become fully armed.

