Woman charged with stabbing British lawmaker

A woman was charged on Saturday with the attempted murder of a former British government minister who was stabbed while meeting constituents in London.

Stephen Timms, 54, who was a treasury minister until the Labour Party was voted out in last week’s general election, was stabbed in the abdomen on Friday but is said to be making a good recovery in hospital.

Roshonara Choudhary, 21, who is unemployed, will appear before magistrates in London on Monday.

She is believed to have made an appointment to see Timms in the usual way at a library in Beckton, east London — most British lawmakers hold a weekly surgery when constituents can come to seek advice or air grievances.

The council of Newham, the borough where the attack took place, said it was reviewing security arrangements.

A spokeswoman said: “Stephen is a popular MP, well-respected by local residents and we wish him a speedy recovery.

“Part of being a political representative is about being accessible and holding surgeries in community locations.

“You cannot vet people who attend such surgeries. We have security at this centre but will review arrangements in light of this incident.”

In 2000, the aide to a Liberal Democrat lawmaker was killed and the lawmaker himself was injured after a man attacked them with a sword during a constituency surgery in Cheltenham, western England.