Former Derbyshire MP recounts ordeal after almost being abducted at gunpoint while travelling home

Matthew Parris is a former Conservative MP for West Derbyshire, holding the seat between 1979-1986, and is now a prominent political journalist.

On Thursday, December 8, Parris was travelling to his flat in London. He passed by the Docklands Light Railway station at Westferry, but when he reached the bus stop where Limehouse Causeway starts, he heard someone shout “get in the car!”

Just five yards away from Mr Parris was a black car with darkened windows. He said he could see a young man through an open window – wearing a ‘Covid-type black mask’ – who was pointing what appeared to be a gun at him.

The man shouted again and Mr Parris tried to ignore him, crossing the road and moving away from the vehicle. The car, however, began to follow him – and he started to run.

A man then got out of the vehicle and looked as though he was pointing what looked like a rifle or shotgun, but admitted that the combination of dim light and panic meant it could have been a length of metal.

After another shout of “get in the car”, Mr Parris decided to shout “help” at the top of his voice before running away again down the causeway. The man got back into the car, which veered off onto a side road.

Mr Parris said: “I had the strange sensation that I might of course be in real danger, with someone pointing what appeared to be a gun at me, and ought to be terrified – but somehow I couldn’t quite believe it.

“I kicked myself for not getting a description of the car, noting its number plate, or taking a photo with my smartphone – and I’ve since been advised that it’s the last three numbers or letters on the number plate, not the starting ones, that are most useful to the police.

“But then again, if these guys really were serious I wouldn’t want them to think I had a photo on my smartphone. And some people have told me that passers-by or residents are more likely to respond to a shout of “fire” than “help.” On the other hand, if someone has a gun, maybe “fire” isn’t the best thing to shout.”

Mr Parris reported the incident to the police when he returned to his home near Matlock, and an officer from Derbyshire Constabulary helped piece together where it had happened using Google Maps.

He said, however, that he still believed it was drink or drug-fuelled – with the occupants of the car trying to scare him for fun, rather than a serious attempt at abduction.

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Mr Parris added that he had not let the incident knock his confidence – and said the response to his column in The Times, where he first discussed what had happened, was largely supportive.

“I thought I might find it difficult to feel relaxed when walking in this area of London but I haven’t. In 50 years I’ve almost never felt in danger – London is probably the safest big city I know – and I don’t, even now.

“On Monday I tried walking the same route at the same time, just to test my responses and also check whether the account I gave was likely to be accurate – and I felt as calm as anything.

“The response to the column has been overwhelmingly positive and sympathetic, and I’m so glad I wrote it all down quickly after the incident. It’s unsettling how quickly details fade or get jumbled in memory, and I actually need my own account, now, to remind myself of what happened.”