Stephen Gilbert’s quick thinking helps rescue woman from Thames

Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Newquay Stephen Gilbert has been involved in the rescue of a woman from the Thames while he was attending an event on the House of Commons terrace last night.

Last night he tweeted: "shaken after seeing a body float past House of Commons terrace - she moved, I threw a life-buoy and she's now been rescued!"

The BBC takes up the story:

The Liberal Democrat said: "What looked like a body just floated past. Then I saw that the person then moved and I followed them down the terrace."

He threw a lifebelt to the woman, before she was pulled from the river.

The RNLI and Marine Police rescued her from the water near Westminster Pier.

Mr Gilbert said: "There are some lifebuoys on the terrace, I guess this is not the first time something like this has happened.

He added the shock had left him "barely able to string a sentence together".

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