Constitutional affairs minister, David Lammy, who was at the scene of a drive-by shooting at the weekend, criticised the police yesterday for holding back paramedics from treating an injured teenager.

The MP said he had tried to stem the victim's bleeding as police officers and paramedics waited nearby, until officers judged the coast clear.

It was almost 40 minutes before the boy, who had been shot in the shoulder, was carried into an ambulance and taken to hospital.