‘Hero’ MP rushed to try to save policeman

Former soldier ran toward deadly scene

LONDON • Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative foreign minister, was praised as an “absolute hero” Wednesday after he tried to save the life of the policeman stabbed during the attack on Parliament.

The Conservative MP attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and applied pressure on the wounds to stem the blood flow to keep him alive.

Ellwood, a former captain in the Royal Green Jackets infantry regiment, attended the victim as he waited for medical staff and an air ambulance to arrive in Parliament Square.

He was later seen with bloodied hands talking to police officers near the scene before going back to the Foreign Office.

A source close to Elwood told The Daily Telegraph: "(He) tried to give mouth to mouth and stem blood flow from multiple stab wounds to the officer until the chopper and medics arrived.”

There were reports last night that Ellwood “ran in (the) opposite direction to everyone else, he ran toward the injured police officer.”

Photographs showed Ellwood, dressed in a blue suit, helping medical staff and policemen treat the officer, who later died.

A source close to the MP said last night he was “well but shaken.”

Elwood has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office since July 2014, covering the Middle East and Africa brief.

His brother, Jon, died in the Bali terror attack in October 2002, which killed 202 people, including 27 Britons.

Ellwood has previously talked about the difficulty in getting the body of Jon, who was a teacher, back from the country after the attack.

MPs from across the political spectrum last night praised him as a “hero.”

Sir Alan Duncan, a Conservative minister who was among the MPs being held safely in the House of Commons chamber when the officer’s death was announced, said: “In the chamber there was a real sombre mood when they announced the policeman had died. And equally there is massive admiration for Tobias Ellwood.”

Ben Howlett, the Tory MP, tweeted: “Tobias Ellwood is an absolute hero for what he did to help the policeman this afternoon!”

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: “Today, Tobias gave MPs a good name. He was utterly heroic, pure and simple. He went above and beyond and did all he could to save a police officer.”