I shook hands with the man who nearly killed me

It was a summer evening in 2014, when four men barged into Paul Kohler’s family home and began a savage assault on him. They believed erroneously that he had a large amount of money hidden there. The speed of the police response meant that Paul was saved from almost certain death, and the four men were later arrested, charged and imprisoned. Although he felt vindicated by the sentencing, Paul’s worldview was changed forever when he and his family were invited to visit one of the attackers in prison, as part of a Restorative Justice scheme. In an episode recorded in front of a live audience at the Hay Literary Festival, Paul tells Dr Sian Williams about that Life Changing confrontation, and how frustration with the way his ordeal was reported led to him into politics. Producer: Tom Alban

You can listen to I shook hands with the man who nearly killed me online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

I shook hands with the man who nearly killed me is an episode from Life Changing by BBC.

This episode is 28:33 long.

This episode was published on Dec 3, 2025.

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