Andy Pennington Remembered

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has paid tribute to Andy Pennington, local councillor, campaigner and assistant to Nigel Jones, on the tenth anniversary of Andy's tragic death. Andy was killed on 28 January 2000 in the attack in Nigel Jones's constituency office, which also left Nigel himself badly injured.

'The last time I saw Andy was at a meeting of the local Alzheimer's Disease Society' said Martin. 'I was then working for the charity's national office and came back to Cheltenham to meet with the local branch who I knew well. Andy was at the same meeting, supporting yet another good cause and briefing everyone on the local political situation. He was his usual irrepressible self. He worked really hard for the local community and although he was an effective campaigner and politician, he never stopped being a real human being.'

'I remember hearing about the attack on the news and the awful realisation that it had been in Cheltenham and that someone had been killed. At first, they didn't say who and it could have been any number of people that I knew. When the details emerged, it sounded more and more nightmarish. I'm pleased that Andy's courage in those terrible moments was later recognised with the George medal. Nigel was very lucky to escape with his own life, although he has had to live with the memory of the event and the loss of such a close friend and colleague ever since.'

'All MPs now have to take care in the layout of their offices. The new Cheltenham office is no different and I hope we now have all the precautions in place that we need to ensure the safety of everyone there.'