Glasgow - No Shortage of Heroes - Alex McIlveen
So when John Smeaton insisted he was no braver than other Glaswegians who took on the terrorists he must have been referring to Alex McIlveen. Here is that story:
Daily Record,
4 Jul 2007,
HERO CABBIE: POLICE TOOK MY GOOD NIKE TRAINERSBATTLING taxi driver Alex McIlveen faced down the Glasgow Airport terror suspects... and his courage cost him his favourite pair of trainers and a £30 parking fine.
Dad-of-two Alex punched and kicked the two men after they crashed a Jeep Cherokee loaded with gas canisters into the door of Terminal One.
The 45-year-old booted one of the suspects, whose body was covered in flames, as hard as he could between the legs.
But the man didn't appear to feel the blow, and a police doctor told Alex later that he'd damaged a tendon in his foot.
After the drama, police confiscated Alex's trainers for forensic tests.
And when he went back to the airport to pick up his cab, he was stunned to find that he'd been given a parking ticket.
Alex said: "The police took all the clothes I 'd been wearing so I lost my Nike trainers. They're a good pair too.
"I didn't get out of the police station until late on Saturday night and I found the parking ticket on my cab next day. I couldn't believe it."
Alex, of Glasgow, was one of several hero Scots who took on the men who targeted the airport on Saturday afternoon.
He punched and kicked the passenger from the Jeep, believed to be Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla.
Then he went after the driver of the vehicle, even though the heavily-built man was in flames after apparently turning himself into a human torch.
Alex was dropping off a fare at the airport when the attack began.
He said: "I noticed a 4x4 sitting in the middle of the road. Then, as my passenger was paying and getting out, the Jeep rammed into the airport entrance right next to us.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"The guy in the passenger seat was wearing a white T-shirt. He got out carrying what looked like a petrol bomb and seconds later the Jeep was in flames.
"Then he kicked and punched a man to the ground before punching a policeman square in the face. That's when I saw red. That sort of thing just isn't on.
Update: The Police waived his fine when they found out what he had done.
But I love the Scottish response when they see a policeman being punched: "That's when I saw red. That sort of thing just isn't on."
Of course, if this happened in Nancy Pelosi-land, instead of John Smeaton's warning to terrorists: "This is Glasgow and we'll no accept this. You try this and we'll set about ye" we would have heard, "This is San Francisco so what did we do wrong to deserve this attack? I'm sorry if the big bad policeman hurt you with his big, long, hard nightstick, but God you just have to love the uniform. Oh my, I could have been killed!"
More men to admire that day:
Daily Record,
5 Jul 2007,
AIRPORT ATTACK: HAVE-A-GO DAD CELEBRATES AT LASTTHE DAD who got hurt taking on a terror suspect finally got to celebrate his 40th birthday yesterday.
Michael Kerr ended up on the ground with smashed teeth and a broken leg when he tackled Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla at Glasgow Airport.
The heating engineer feared he could burn to death as he lay helpless near the blaze at Terminal One. But Michael, who had just returned from holiday in Menorca, was dragged to safety by hero John Smeaton.
He was back at home in Denny, Stirlingshire, yesterday with wife Annette and two-year-old twins Sophie and Rachel.
And he was finally having a party after spending his milestone birthday in agony at the airport.
Michael said: "I don't consider myself a hero at all. I would do exactly the same again if it happened tomorrow. It was a shame the way things turned out, we had planned a big birthday meal on the Sunday. But I don't regret anything.
