Former Labour minister Stephen Timms is in hospital after being stabbed.
Police said Mr Timms was stabbed in the stomach at a constituency event in east London but stressed his injuries were not life-threatening. A 21-year old woman has been arrested after the attack in Newham but police have not given further details about the circumstances behind the incident. Mr Timms served at the Treasury under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and was recently re-elected as MP for East Ham.
The Labour MP is reported to be sitting up in hospital and talking to staff. He was stabbed while holding a constituency surgery in the Beckton Globe Library in Newham. Mr Timms was a close confidant of both Gordon Brown and Alastair Darling during Labour’s 13 years in government, serving latterly as financial secretary to the Treasury.
He was returned with a majority of more than 27,000 at last week’s election. Cabinet ministers and former ministers, particularly those who served in departments such as the Home Office and the Northern Ireland Office, have security protection, the majority of MPs do not.
In 2000 Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones was wounded and his aide, Andrew Pennington, was stabbed to death in a frenzied sword attack during a constituency surgery at the party’s office in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Mr Jones, a married father of three, was conducting his weekly surgery when he received lacerations to his hands and arms after fending off blows from Robert Ashman, who was jailed for manslaughter and attempted murder.
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