Section:GDN 1N PaGe:20 Edition Date:190812 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 11/8/2019 20:26 cYanmaGentaYellowb
- The Guardian Monday 12 Aug ust 2019
(^20) National
In brief
Crime
Offi cer attacked with
his own police car
Health
Marina Wheeler speaks
about cancer diagnosis
A police offi cer has “potentially
life-changing” injuries after he
was run over with his own car, as
a 29-year-old man detained on
suspicion of attempted murder
remains in custody.
West Midlands police said the
offi cer was being treated for head
and pelvic injuries and would need
further surgery after emergency
treatment on Saturday night.
Marina Wheeler, the estranged
wife of Boris Johnson, has spoken
of her cervical cancer diagnosis
and urged women to make time for
tests. The QC, who married Johnson
in 1993 and separated from him in
2018, told the Sunday Times she
underwent surgery twice after being
given the news in May. She stressed
the importance of screening after
a routine check revealed the
problem. She said she consider ed
herself to be free of cancer, and
that the experience had made her
appreciate “the incalculable value
of holding close those who you love
and trust”. PA Media
Tom Joyce , a superintendent
with the force, said the offi cer’s
injuries were “ certainly potentially
life-changing – but we are relieved
to say, we understand they are not
believed to be life-threatening ”.
The traffi c offi cer had been
following a Range Rover Sport
in Moseley, Birmingham, which
had been stolen minutes earlier
on Saturday afternoon. He was
violently assaulted and punched to
the ground on Moorcroft Road as he
attempted to arrest the suspected
thief , who then jumped behind
the wheel of his marked police car
and ran him over. A 29-year-old
man from Hall Green was detained
after being shot with a stun gun
and arrested , following a chase.
A 24-year-old was also arrested for
car theft. Amy Walker
Community of rough
sleepers barred from
Westminster tunnel
Diane Taylor
A group of rough sleepers have been
barred from an underpass leading to
the parliamentary estate after MPs
leave for the day.
The group of about 10 – who describe
themselves as the parliamentary night
shift – formed a distinct community
with rules of conduct. They emerged
after 11pm to lay out their cardboard,
newspaper and sleeping bags in the
underpass from Westminster tube
station.
None were involved in begging,
substance abuse or rowdy behaviour
and new members had to abide by the
code of conduct, especially getting up
before 6am before parliament’s busi-
ness begins and leaving the tunnel
clean and tidy.
One of the group, a 58-year-old who
became homeless almost a year ago
after a relationship breakdown, has
nicknamed himself the Earl of West-
minster and has written a blogpost
about their eviction.
He condemned the decision by par-
liament to install rolldown shutters on
Friday after the rough sleepers found a
way round a temporary barrier.
It is understood that the shut-
ters were installed to delineate
parliament’s new boundary owing
to a transfer of land from Westmin-
ster city council to parliament, which
is understood to be working with the
council to support those sleeping in
the station area.
“We were a good community sleep-
ing in that tunnel,” said the earl , also
known as Tim. “There was no mess,
no drinking, no drugs and no rowdy
behaviour. But now our group has
been broken up and we have nowhere
to sleep. We are condemned to stop
being rough sleepers and instead to
become ‘rough walkers’.’”
He said that as part of the group’s
determination to keep the space clean
and tidy, and not cause any public
nuisance, they had even asked Trans-
port for London staff if they could
borrow a broom to sweep up before
leaving the tunnel each morning.
“As street homeless people we
can’t carry brooms around with us.
But when we asked to borrow one to
make sure we left things really clean
and tidy we were told we couldn’t for
health and safety reasons,” he said.
“The people in this group are really
nice. When the police came to move
us on Friday they told us we were a
good group. ”
The tunnel goes from Westminster
tube station towards Big Ben which is
undergoing restoration work.
Laura Hughes, a friend of Tim’s,
checks on his welfare regularly and
provides him with support. She said
she was dismayed by Friday’s evic-
tion. “This is a human rights violation,
it’s part of the hostile environment
towards homeless people and it’s
social cleansing,” she said.
Rough sleeping in the London bor-
ough of Westminster increased by 16 %
between April 2018 and March 2019,
with outreach workers recording 2,
people sleeping rough compared with
2,165 the previous year. Last year two
rough sleepers were found dead in
underpasses near parliament.
A UK Parliament spokes man said:
“We are in the process of transferring
ownership of the area to parliament
and have installed a pass-activated
gate to better manage the area for
those entering the estate. We continue
to engage with partners on addressing
the diffi cult issue of rough sleeping in
and around the station constructively
and sympathetically.”
Seeing stars
An 11-year-old Liverpool
fan who knocked himself
unconscious running into a
lamp-post as he tried to keep
up with footballer Mo Salah’s
car received a surprise visit
from the striker. Louis Fowler
and his brother, Isaac, had
been waiting outside the
club’s training ground on
Saturday in the hope of seeing
one of their idols, when they
saw Salah’s car pull out. Salah,
who saw the accident, called
in on the boy s at home to
check Louis was OK. He then
gave them both a hug and
posed for pictures. “It was
a touch of class ... Mo Salah
is their hero and the boys
were made up,” said their
stepfather, Joe Cooper.
PHOTOGRAPH: JOE COOPER/LIVERPOOL ECHO
‘The police who
moved us said we
were a good group’
‘Earl of Westminster’
Rough sleeper
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