Londoner's Diary
The drama didn’t end for one MP after the tense Rwanda vote in the Commons last night. David Davis, Conservative MP, former Brexit secretary and SAS reservist, was on his way home when he got into a fight with two hooligans on Great Peter Street near Parliament. The pair were chasing a rough sleeper, whom they beat to the ground and repeatedly kicked in the head, an eyewitness to Davis’s heroism told The Londoner.
“These two guys were kicking seven bells out of him,” Davis told us. He stepped in and placed himself between the victim and the pair. A scuffle ensued with the most violent of the two.
“About 35 years ago, somebody got kicked in the head and he died. Ever since, if I see something like that happening, I intervene,” he said. Davis passed the gruelling SAS selection process more than 40 years ago. Did he deploy some of his old training last night? “Only to stop them from hitting me, really. I’m not always so successful when following my rule. I have broken my nose and a few teeth in the past, but this time it was ok.”
After seeing off the two attackers, Davis took the victim, named Gareth, back to his Westminster flat and cleaned up his injuries. “I gave him a sofa for the night and took him to A&E this morning. He was still bleeding,” said Davis. “It’s fortunately nothing permanent other than a few scars, I think. He was a bit faint this morning which made getting him to A&E a bit difficult.”
“It was messy, but he’s all right. He’s still alive and that’s the important thing”. Not all heroes wear capes?
Not so Cleverly
According to a popular meme, there are men out there who think about the Roman Empire at least once a day. Is Home Secretary James Cleverly one of them? He’s taken to using analogies about the ancient world lately and said this week that the Government should be like the 300 Spartans of Thermopylae, but unlike them it would not go down to crushing defeat. We quizzed classicist Professor Mary Beard, pictured, about this.
“Of all the classical allusions you could make, when you’re referencing Thermopylae, you know that it’s over,” she zinged. “It’s the problem with politicians making historical references — there’s always someone to say: nope, you’re wrong.”
Return of the cravat
After we noted a sudden flourishing of Victoriana chic among Conservative party grandees in yesterday’s column — bushy sideburns for Michael Gove and a paisley cravat for Geoffrey Cox — Tory tongues were set wagging. One reader in Conservative Campaign HQ got in touch with their thoughts on the style: “This new look will, I bet, be all the rage for young Tories soon — cravats will be two a penny at the next party conference!” We can only hope. The off-the-hanger navy suits worn by most young Tories are starting to feel a bit sixth form. And what better time to let one’s hair down and try new styles than a long spell in opposition?
