"Choudhary, wearing what appeared to be Muslim dress, allegedly lunged at him and stabbed him twice before being restrained by a security guard and arrested."
Woman charged with attempted murder over stabbing of Labour MP Stephen Timms
Daily Mail
A woman was charged with attempted murder today over the stabbing of a former Labour minister.
Stephen Timms was stabbed twice in the stomach as he held a surgery for constituents yesterday afternoon.
Scotland Yard said unemployed Roshonara Choudhary, 21, has now been charged.
She will appear before Stratford Magistrates' Court on Monday.
Mr Timms was attacked during his regular Friday afternoon surgery in his East London constituency.
Choudhary, wearing what appeared to be Muslim dress, allegedly lunged at him and stabbed him twice before being restrained by a security guard and arrested.
An aide to Mr Timms was hailed a hero after it was revealed he wrestled the knife out of the hands of his attacker.
Andrew Bazeley, 22, bravely disarmed the woman, who had made an appointment to see Mr Timms at his surgery.
Mr Bazeley was left covered in blood after he grabbed the knife and restrained her until a security guard arrived.
Unmesh Desai, Mr Timms' election aide and a local councillor, said: 'Thank God Andrew had the presence of mind to get the knife. He was very brave to do what he did.
'He's a young guy and a very slim guy but he had the presence of mind to take the knife away. It's awful to think what could have happened if he hadn't been so brave.'
Mr Timms, 54, had to have surgery last night and is still in hospital today but is recovering well.
Witnesses to the stabbing screamed in terror as they saw the stabbing. One person who arrived moments later said she saw blood on his shirt and an Asian woman being restrained by security guards.
Mr Timms - a senior Labour MP, one of the longest-surviving and least-controversial members of the former Labour Government - was taken to the Royal London Hospital and said to be in 'good spirits'.
Mr Desai said Mr Timms was 'obviously shaken'.
Sagal Ahmed,16, a student at Kingsford Community School, was in the community centre in Beckton when the stabbing happened.
'We just heard this big commotion so we ran in to the room,' she said. 'The security guard had grabbed this Asian woman. She was wearing a long black outfit like what Muslims wear and an orangey headscarf. I think she was a Muslim.
'She wasn't saying anything. They were just grabbing her to keep her still. She was really shaking. The Muslim woman seem shocked and distressed. It was the most shocking thing I've ever seen.
