The strong ‘hand’ of the law finally caught up with Hendon MP Matthew Offord this week. After a summer of shaking hundreds of hands, Matthew accidently hit his own on a bathroom cabinet while on honeymoon in Italy. Though the accident left him sore, he ignored the problem and carried on with his duties as an MP for two more weeks before being urged to visit an Accident and Emergency department by medical staff at the House of Commons. Doctors at the St Thomas’ hospital opposite the Houses of Parliament immediately diagnosed Matthew as having fractured his fifth metacarpal bone in his hand.
Nursing a plastered forearm Matthew said “It was only when I shook hands with John Yates, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, at a recent security briefing did I realise that something was very wrong with my hand. Most people would be concerned about John Yates feeling their collar but I was more concerned about his grasping my hand. It is ironic that I avoided going to hospital by staying in the Chamber as long as I could to contribute to Home Office questions before I relented and attended the A&E department. Perhaps I should have asked the Home Secretary about the increasing strong hand of the law under the Coalition Government.”
Matthew preparing for next week’s Equitable Life debate in the shadow of St Stephen’s Tower.