Ex-minister robbed on highway

A former Tory minister was the victim of a highway robbery yesterday when an attacker snatched her handbag from inside her car. Cheryl Gillan, 45, said she chased the thief for several hundred yards but was unable to catch him. The handbag was later recovered, but with money and credit cards missing.

Mrs Gillan, a former junior education and employment minister who is now a prominent member of the Opposition's frontbench trade and industry team, was unhurt. The incident occurred on the A40 Hammersmith flyover in west London, as Mrs Gillan returned to her Chesham and Amersham constituency after speaking for the Opposition in a House of Commons debate.