I shut his eyes and told him: I’m sorry
Tory MP tells inquest of desperate attempts to save PC brutally stabbed in Westminster attack
HeROiC MP Tobias ellwood fought back tears yesterday as he recounted his desperate attempt to save the life of Westminster bridge attack victim PC Keith Palmer.
The defence minister gave CPR to the stabbed officer and had to be told to stop by a doctor after PC Palmer succumbed to his wounds.
The former soldier then closed PC Palmer’s eyes and said ‘i’m sorry’, he told the inquest into the deaths of those killed by Khalid Masood in March 2017.
before being shot dead, the islamic extremist killed Kurt Cochran, 54, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, and Andreea Cristea, 31, when he ploughed an suV into pedestrians on Westminster bridge.
He then fatally stabbed PC Palmer in the chest at the gates to the Palace of Westminster, where MPs were assembling for an imminent Commons vote.
Mr elwood came across the unfolding incident as he walked from the Foreign Office, he told the Old bailey inquest, when he heard a ‘significant crash’ and ‘screams’. ‘These were not screams of pain, they were screams of shock,’ he said.
The Tory MP for bournemouth east said he saw waves of people with ‘panic in their eyes’ as he made his way to Parliament through an underground passageway. ‘They were shouting, “Go, go, go, go” and “Go back, go back”’, he said, before his attention was drawn to the area where PC Palmer was laying.
‘There were two bodies on the ground,’ he said. ‘The nearest one was clearly a police officer with other officers attempting to give him support.’
Mr ellwood said he stepped forward, ignoring the risk to his own safety, to help administer first aid. He told the court: ‘My brother was killed in a secondary attack in bali [a 2002 terrorist bombing in indonesia] so i was very aware of that.’
Jon ellwood, a teacher, was among 27 british victims of the attack, which claimed 202 lives.
The MP assessed PC Palmer’s wounds before beginning CPR, and continued to do so as doctors who arrived by helicopter attempted emergency surgery. becoming emotional as he recalled the efforts to save PC Palmer, a father of one, he said: ‘Forgive me, it’s sometimes easier to do the helping rather than to talk about it afterwards.’
even when it became clear PC Palmer had died, Mr ellwood refused to stop chest compressions. ‘i looked at him [the doctor] and said, “You’re going to have to tell me to stop. You’re going to have to make that decision”. He said, ‘sir, you have done your best. We do need to stop”.’
He described the ‘eerie silence’ at Westminster in the aftermath of the attack. Mr ellwood and one other person were left with the officer’s body.
He said: ‘We both covered the body as best we could, closed the eyes and i said, “i’m sorry.” it was very, very silent. it was a very strange end to a very traumatic four or five minutes.’
Mr ellwood, a former Army officer who remains a reservist, said he disagreed with aspects of the official counter-terror advice, which tells civilians to step back. saying he regretted not having had the chance to tackle Masood, he added: ‘if more of us do step forward as we saw in the Manchester attack, London bridge and Westminster bridge as well, the message gets through that no terrorist is going to win.’
The inquest was told that two firearms officers – PC Lee Ashby and PC nicholas sanders – faced disciplinary proceedings for not being stationed at Carriage Gates as they should have been when Masood launched his attack, yet they were not punished over this apparent mistake. PC Ashby rejected the finding against him, claiming he had been ordered to patrol the entire area in an ‘unpredictable fashion’. The hearing continues.
Comment – Page 16
‘Screams of shock’