Andrew Pennington
Andrew Pennington | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gloucestershire County Councillor | |
| In office 1985 – 28 January 2000 | |
| Constituency | Hesters Way |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew James Pennington 1 February 1960 Warrington, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 28 January 2000 (aged 39) Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England |
| Cause of death | Stabbed |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats (from 1988) |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal (until 1988) |
| Known for | Murder victim |
Andrew James Pennington GM (1 February 1960 – 28 January 2000) was a British Liberal Democrat politician and a posthumous recipient of the George Medal in 2001. He was a Gloucestershire County Councillor from 1985 until his death in a stabbing attack in 2000.
Background
Pennington lived in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He was elected as a Liberal to Gloucestershire County Council in the 1985 election, defeating the incumbent Labour councillor in the Hesters Way division with a majority of 183 votes,[1] obtaining 38.6% of the vote overall.[2] He was re-elected as a Liberal Democrat in 1989 with 70.1% of the vote (a majority of 1,307 votes),[2] and in 1993 held his seat with 73.3% of the vote (a majority of 1,272 votes).[2][3] In his last election in 1997, he was re-elected with 65.2% of the vote (a majority of 2,071 votes).[2]
Death
On 28 January 2000, Pennington was acting as an assistant to
George Medal
Pennington was posthumously awarded the George Medal by Queen Elizabeth II on 30 October 2001. The citation reads:
For his actions in saving the life of a man who had been attacked by another man armed with a samurai sword.
On 28 January 2000, a member of parliament was holding a surgery for his constituents at his office in Cheltenham. Mr Andrew Pennington was assisting him when the receptionist showed a man into the office. The MP invited the man, who was wearing a full-length overcoat buttoned up to the neck, to sit down but the man declined and stood in front of the MP while he read a letter on which he had been asked to advise. A short conversation took place between them, whilst Mr Pennington looked on, but then the man began to talk nonsensically and without warning reached into his coat and drew out a long curved sword. He stood with the sword raised above his head in both hands, and as the MP stood up, lowered it, pointing the sword tip at the MP's midriff. At this point, Mr Pennington ran to the door of the office and called to the receptionist to get help.
Suddenly, the man lunged forward and thrust the sword at the MP who managed to deflect it with his left arm before grabbing the blade with both hands. The man tried to pull the sword from the MP's grip and he fell face down onto the sofa with the sword beneath him. The man fell on top of him and struggled to wrestle the sword free without success. Mr Pennington then hit the man from behind and dragged him off the MP, telling the MP to get away. The MP managed to escape and ran out of the office to summon help, but the man got hold of the sword again. A violent struggle then took place in which Mr Pennington tried to restrain the man but was stabbed repeatedly with the sword and was fatally wounded. Mr Pennington died shortly afterwards from his injuries and the man was later arrested.[5]
Trial and aftermath
In February 2001, the suspect in Pennington's killing, 49-year-old Robert Ashman of Lansdown Place, Cheltenham, was initially charged with the murder of Pennington and the attempted murder of Jones, but the jury at
Ashman was released in July 2008 after psychiatrists determined that he was no longer dangerous. In 2009, he was living temporarily in Bristol and told authorities that he wished to move to Gloucester, close to where Jones and his family live. Lord Jones raised concerns with Justice Secretary Jack Straw about the proposal.[8]
References
- ^ Colin Rallings, Michael Thrasher, "County Council Election Results in England: A Statistical Digest", Centre for the Study of Local Elections, Plymouth Polytechnic, 1985, vol 1, p. 315.
- ^ a b c d Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, Gloucestershire County Council Election Results 1973-2009. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University.
- ^ Colin Rallings, Michael Thrasher, "Local Elections Handbook 1993", Polytechnic South West, 1993, p. 57.
- ^ "Medal for man who died saving MP". BBC News. 30 October 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ "No. 56374". The London Gazette. 30 October 2001. p. 12751.
- ^ "Lib Dems mourn lost councillor". BBC News. 25 February 2000. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ "Sword man sent to secure hospital". BBC News. 21 February 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ^ a b Hope, Christopher (19 March 2009). "Former MP attacked with sword fears for his safety after assailant tries to move in nearby". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 November 2016.