Stephen Timms, the Labour MP and former minister who was responsible for guiding the Digital Economy Bill through Parliament, was stabbed today in his East Ham constituency.

The 54-year-old is currently in hospital and a 21-year-old woman is in police custody and being assessed by mental health specialists.

Timms was attacked at 3.20pm this afternoon at his constituency surgery, police said. His condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

Before going into politics, Timms worked for Logica and as a telecoms analyst for Ovum. He was re-elected last week with a majority of almost 28,000, up from about 21,000. ®