Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novels usually involve good eventually triumphing over evil, but the author’s grandson discovered this week that in Labour’s lawless Britain, criminals behave with impunity.
On Tuesday, Ned Donovan was nursing his wounds after intervening to apprehend a pickpocket stealing from tourists in the shadow of the Palace of Westminster.
Even though Ned, who is married to a Middle Eastern princess, managed to stop the thief, he was set upon by fellow gang members.
To Ned’s horror, instead of coming to his aid, passers-by filmed the incident on their mobile phones.
‘Walking across Westminster Bridge, I saw a man in the act of pickpocketing a female tourist,’ he says. ‘I grabbed him and stopped him before he could disappear.
On Tuesday, Ned Donovan (pictured) was nursing his wounds after intervening to apprehend a pickpocket stealing from tourists in the shadow of the Palace of Westminster
Even though Ned, who is married to a Middle Eastern princess, managed to stop the thief, he was set upon by fellow gang members
Ned, 30, who is a Special Constable, adds: ‘Sadly, dozens stood around watching and filming, but no one attempted to help’
Members of the Dahl Family, Liccy Dahl (2nd Wife of Roald Dahl), Sophie Dahl (Grand Daughter of Roald Dahl), Orphelia Dahl (Daughter of Roald Dahl), and Grandson’s Luke and Ned, attend the charity auction of Roald Dahl’s private photographs at Christie’s auction house on December 13, 2004 in London
‘Unfortunately, several of his accomplices appeared and began to punch me, kick me and choke me to get me to release their friend, which I wasn’t going to let happen.
‘One up-and-coming black eye, bloody nose, marks on the neck, a scratched eye socket and cuts from him biting my wrist later, I’m recovering and very grateful to the Metropolitan Police and the NHS for all their help and hard work.’
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Ned, 30, who is a Special Constable, adds: ‘Sadly, dozens stood around watching and filming, but no one attempted to help.’
The amiable son of Roald’s daughter Tessa Dahl by her second marriage to late boulevardier Patrick Donovan, Ned is the half-brother of writer and model Sophie Dahl.
He married Princess Raiyah of Jordan, youngest daughter of the late King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan, in 2020.
Princess Raiyah, who is eight years Ned’s senior, was schooled at Atlantic College in Glamorgan before taking a degree in Japanese at Edinburgh University. She met Ned in India in 2018.
He served as a Special Constable during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, helping to keep the crowds safe in The Mall. He regularly flies in from Jordan to perform his duties in London.
Special Constables are unpaid volunteer police officers with the same powers on and off duty as a regular police officer.
