Ellwood awarded Privy Council seat for efforts to save policeman
TOBIAS ELLWOOD, the Foreign Office minister who tried to save the life of Pc Keith Palmer, has been appointed to the Privy Council in recognition of his efforts.
The Tory MP attempted mouth-tomouth resuscitation on the officer, who had been stabbed by Adrian Ajao outside Parliament on Wednesday. He applied pressure on the wounds to stem the blood flow but said Pc Palmer had “lost too much blood”.
Mr Ellwood, a former soldier, aided the victim as he awaited 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.
In Parliament, Mr Ellwood was hailed by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, as “every inch a hero”. Downing Street yesterday announced that the Queen was “pleased” to approve the appointment of Mr Ellwood to the Privy Council, which advises Her Majesty on matters of state.
Ben Wallace, the security minister, was also appointed to the committee. The pair will now be entitled to be referred to as “Right Honourable” and receive national security briefings.
Parliament yesterday rejected calls to station armed police outside the security gates because of concerns that it would send the “wrong message” to the public. MPs said that there had been “intense” debates for years about posting armed police on the gates to bolster security. However Parliament decided against the move as it was felt it might be regarded badly by, or alarm, members of the public.
MPs formally complained about armed police being deployed at the gates because they created a bad “atmosphere” and were “off-putting”. Senior police sources told The Daily
Telegraph that it had been a “mistake” to decide against having armed police at the gate. “We were dealing with a different threat at the time the decision was made,” a source said. “The fear at the
time was that we might get a truck bomb, not someone trying to attack a police officer with a knife”.
Parliament’s security is now under review and the police source said it is highly likely that it will recommend that officers at the gate are armed in future.
Mark Rowley, Scotland Yard’s antiterror chief, yesterday said that Parliament’s security arrangements were “proportionate”. Two of Scotland Yard’s heavily armoured Jankel “Guardian” vans, which are built to withstand bomb blasts and machine gun fire, were yesterday parked off Parliament Square. The seven-tonne vehicles, which can cost more than £100,000, have bullet-proof tyres, a blast-resistant floor and can withstand bullets from AK47s, grenades and bombs.