Stephen Timms
Sir Stephen Creswell Timms (born 29 July 1955) is a British politician who served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2006 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham, formerly Newham North Eas ...
, the
Labour MP for
East Ham
East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186.
It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...
, was stabbed on 14 May 2010 during his
constituency surgery
A political surgery, constituency surgery, constituency clinic, mobile office or sometimes advice surgery, in British and Irish politics, is a series of one-to-one meetings that a Member of Parliament (MP), Teachta Dála (TD) or other political ...
by Roshonara Choudhry, a 21-year-old British former student and an
Islamic extremist, in an attempt to kill him. She was found guilty of
attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions.
Canada
Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...
and jailed for
life with a minimum term of 15 years. Choudhry was the first
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
sympathiser to attempt an assassination in Britain.
Choudhry stated that she had been influenced by online sermons of
Anwar al-Awlaki, the leader of
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Following her trial, such material was removed from YouTube.
Background
Choudhry was born in
Newham,
East London, and lived in
East Ham
East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186.
It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...
. She was the eldest child and attended
Plashet School
Plashet School is a secondary girls school in East Ham, London with approximately 1,350 students. It was previously a grammar school. In 2009 Ofsted highlighted Plashet as one of 12 outstanding schools serving disadvantaged communities.
History ...
in East Ham, later studying for her
A-level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
s at
Newham Sixth Form College. She had been in the final year of a degree in English and communications at
King's College, London,
but had dropped out shortly before the attempt on Timms' life.
[ In a police interview, she stated that she had left because she found the university to be anti-Islamic, since they had given an award to the Israeli politician ]Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
, in addition to running counter-radicalisation programmes.
Choudhry was inspired to attack Timms by the online lectures of Anwar al-Awlaki.
Attack
On 14 May 2010, Timms was approached by Choudhry, during his constituency surgery
A political surgery, constituency surgery, constituency clinic, mobile office or sometimes advice surgery, in British and Irish politics, is a series of one-to-one meetings that a Member of Parliament (MP), Teachta Dála (TD) or other political ...
at the Beckton Globe Library in Kingsford Way, Beckton, East London. She acted as though she were going to shake his hand, and then stabbed him twice in his abdomen with a 6-inch kitchen knife, before she was disarmed.
She made "very full admissions" to the police, saying that she had been influenced by dozens of hours of sermons that she had watched of Anwar al-Awlaki, a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. She said her attack was to punish Timms for voting for the Iraq War, and as revenge for the Iraqi people.
Timms suffered "potentially life-threatening" wounds: lacerations to the left lobe of his liver, and a perforation to his stomach. A senior police officer said he "was extremely fortunate not to have been killed".[ He underwent emergency surgery at the Royal London Hospital, from which he was discharged on 19 May.
]
Trial
Choudhry chose not to attend her trial for attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions.
Canada
Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...
at the Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
, saying she did not recognise the court's jurisdiction. The prosecutor ruled out any suggestion that she suffered from a mental illness. On 2 November, Choudhry was found guilty of Timms' attempted murder. She was subsequently given a life sentence, with a recommendation that she serve a minimum jail term of 15 years. After the sentence was announced in court, a group of men in the public gallery began shouting " Allahu akbar" and "British go to hell." A small demonstration took place outside the court.
Aftermath
After the court case, Timms said he was not bitter, but that forgiveness was not possible until his attacker showed remorse. He was seeking the banning of incendiary material on popular internet sites "to protect other vulnerable young people from going down the same road."
The Revolution Muslim website described Choudhry as a heroine for stabbing Timms, posted a prayer to destroy the "enemies of Islam", naming Timms, and responded to her conviction for attacking Timms by publishing a list of MPs who had voted in favour of the Iraq War, as Timms had, giving advice on how to find details of their constituency surgeries.
Choudhry is incarcerated at HM Prison Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey. As a Category A prisoner, Choudhry must be strip-searched before and after being visited. For religious reasons, she opposes this, and instead chooses to remain in solitary confinement.[
]
References
{{Portal bar, England, London, Biography, Law
2010 in London
Terrorist incidents involving knife attacks
Beckton
Attacks on British politicians
Stabbing attacks in London
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2010
Islamic terrorism in London
May 2010 crimes
May 2010 events in the United Kingdom
Political violence in England