Tory MP David Davis in late-night ‘scuffle’ near Parliament

Tory MP David Davis has said he was involved in a late-night scuffle with two men near Parliament on Tuesday night.

The former Brexit secretary, 74, told Press Association he had intervened after seeing two men attacking a rough sleeper at around 11pm on Great Peter Street, Westminster. The incident came hours after MPs took part in a crunch evening vote on Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan.

The MP for Haltemprice and Howden, a former SAS reservist, said he let the rough sleeper, named Gareth, spend the night on his sofa at his nearby flat before he took him to hospital on Wednesday morning.

Mr Davis said he did not “hit” the men, adding: “I had to get between them, be very aggressive, one of them took a couple of swings at me and I had to deal with that, slightly manhandle him.

“I didn’t hit them, if you hit them you’ve got to hit them really hard and you might kill them, so I tried not to get into that, otherwise I’d be talking from a prison cell.

“I was basically being very aggressive, one of them started to back away and one of them, the more aggressive one, was a bit shocked and that gave me time to get the victim on his feet and away.

“Eventually it was alright, I think the aggressive one decided he didn’t want a straight-on confrontation with me.”

It is unclear whether the incident was reported to police.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Mr Davis said: “About 35 years ago, somebody got kicked in the head and he died. Ever since, if I see something like that happening, I intervene… I have broken my nose and a few teeth in the past, but this time it was OK.

He said Gareth was “a bit faint this morning which made getting him to A&E a bit difficult” but said there was likely “nothing permanent other than a few scars”.

He added: “It was messy, but he’s all right. He’s still alive and that’s the important thing.”

Additional reporting by Press Association