Kept in Handcuffs

harles Clarke, the Home Secretary, had previously refused medical treatment for him, ignoring pleas from MPs of all parties. Despite being too weak to stand, Timba Mqhubeli, 28, a teacher, was kept in handcuffs at Homerton University Hospital until the Labour MP Kate Hoey intervened.

Mr Mqhubeli claims that he is an opposition activist and that he and his family were detained and beaten in Zimbabwe. A second hunger striker, Harris Nyatsanza, is also understood to have been transferred to hospital.