‘Heroic’ Tory MP rushed to give kiss of life to policeman
TOBIAS ELLWOOD, the Conservative foreign minister, was praised as an “absolute hero” last night after he tried to save the life of the policeman stabbed during the attack. The Conservative MP attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and applied pressure on the wounds to stem the blood flow to keep the officer alive.
Mr Ellwood, a former captain in the Royal Green Jackets, 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 Mr Ellwood 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 Mr Ellwood “ran in [the] opposite direction to everyone else, he ran towards the injured police officer”.
Photographs later emerged of Mr 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”.
Police officers last night paid tribute to Mr Ellwood. Rhys Huges, a superintendent with Avon and Somerset Police summed up the feeling from within the police family with a simple tweet to Mr Ellwood which read: “Thank you for trying today, sir.”
Another officer, Sgt Steve Haywood from Dorset Police wrote: “Thank you Bournemouth MP Tobias Ellwood for coming to the aid of a police officer and doing CPR.”
Another person, Harry Leslie Smith added: “We too often say our politicians live in a bubble but #tobiasellwood proved that wrong today. Fair play to his heroism.”
Mr Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, has been Parliamentary UnderSecretary at the Foreign Office since July 2014, covering the Middle East and Africa brief. He lost his brother Jon in the Bali terror attack in October 2002, in which 202 people died including 27 Britons.
MPs from across the political spectrum last night praised him as a “hero”.
Sir Alan Duncan, a Conservative minister who works with Mr Ellwood in the Foreign Office, said: “He has done very well. He was the right man in the right place.”
Sir Alan was among MPs being held in the House of Commons chamber when the officer’s death was announced. He 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.
“Good for him. He has a military background and he is the sort of person who leaps into action. He is just a proper get-on-with-it guy in a crisis.
“I’m going to give him a very stiff drink.”
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.”
Jake Berry, Conservative MP for Rossendale and Darwen, said: “What an amazing and brave action from this former soldier. He showed compassion for everyone who works here in Parliament and every police officer who works to keep us safe.”
Speaking last night, Mr Ellwood said: “I am a witness, I was the last one on the scene before he died so I am not allowed to say anything. It is now murder, I was on the scene and as soon as I realised what was going on I headed towards it. It is a huge tragedy, it really is.
“I tried to stem the flow of blood and give mouth to mouth while waiting for the medics to arrive, but I think he had lost too much blood.
“He had multiple wounds, under the arm and in the back.”