MP injures knee after Commons staircase fall

AWILTSHIRE MP ruptured his knee ligaments by falling down stairs while “probably trespassing” near the Prime Minister’s office in the House of Commons.

James Gray, the MP for North Wiltshire, will be on crutches with his leg in a brace for six to eight weeks as a result of the accident.

Mr Gray said he fell after trying to take a short cut back to his office after taking part in a vote on Tuesday.

He tumbled down a staircase and had to be helped by staff and police before he returned to the West Country to undergo surgery at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Mr Gray revealed details of the mishap in a letter to his constituents that warned he might be “less active” because of his injury.

He said: “I took a short cut from the chamber towards my office via a littleknown staircase which leads from the Prime Minister’s office to Speaker’s Court down below.

“I was probably trespassing, and it’s a route I had not used before and must have been unfamiliar with the carpeted staircase.

“Anyhow, towards the bottom, I found myself on the floor with a leg at an awkward angle. There was no one around (thankfully not even the PM), so I hauled myself to my feet, stepped outside the heavy oak door, and promptly fell over again, my knee giving out beneath me.

“The doorkeepers and police helped enormously, and eventually I got my wheelchair-laden self back to Wiltshire, thence to RUH in Bath, where the fantastic surgeons successfully operated on my ruptured ligaments. Serves me jolly well right.”

Mr Gray, 63, said he would be reachable as normal, thanks to a “fully functioning office” at his Wiltshire home.

He added that he would be heading to Parliament if he “possibly can” for all the main debates and votes.

James Gray had to have hospital treatment following his tumble