Who dares wins! Tory ex-SAS reservist David Davis tells how he stopped two thugs attacking homeless man near Parliament as he dodged punches, acted 'aggressively' and 'manhandled' one - but didn't hit back because he feared he might kill them

Former minister and ex-SAS reservist David Davis has been hailed a hero after he stepped in to stop two men attacking a homeless man near Parliament.

The Conservative MP, 74, had just left the dramatic Rwanda vote in the Commons on Tuesday night when he intervened after seeing a 'spray of blood' and the attackers 'kicking seven bells' out of the man.

As the thugs kicked the man in the head on Great Peter Street, Westminster, the former Brexit secretary put himself between the victim and the pair before scuffling with one of them. 

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Guto Harri, ex-No 10 communications chief, said he also helped stop the attack at around 11pm on Tuesday, saying the intervention 'prevented a man being killed'.

Mr Davis then let the rough sleeper, named Gareth, spend the night on his sofa at his nearby flat and took him to hospital on Wednesday morning after seeing he was still bleeding.

The MP for Haltemprice and Howden, said of the brawl: '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.'

He added that the altercation was over 'in a minute' and that his main concern was not his own safety but getting the man 'out of risk'. 

Mr Davis told The Evening Standard, who first reported the story, 'It was messy, but he's all right. He's still alive and that's the important thing.' 

The veteran politician successfully passed the grueling SAS selection process 40 years ago.

Asked by the newspaper if he employed any of his training when tackling the louts, he said: 'Only to stop them from hitting me, really.' 

While he admitted he has broken his 'nose and a few teeth in the past' while intervening in attacks previously, he said 'this time I was OK'.