A police officer looks across the Thames at the British Parliament in London on Jan. 23, 2010.
A female student was found guilty at a London court on Tuesday of trying to murder a Labour MP in revenge for his having voted for the Iraq war.
Roshonara Choudhry, 21, knifed former Treasury Minister Stephen Timms twice in the stomach during a regular monthly advice surgery at an east London community centre in May.
The assault was a "punishment" and "to get revenge for the people of Iraq", prosecutor William Boyce told the Old Bailey.
The decision to go to war was the most controversial episode of Labour's 13-year tenure, provoking huge protests, divisions within the party and accusations that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair had deceived the public about the reasons for invasion.
Ms. Choudhry had compiled a list of other politicians who had voted for the 2003 invasion, the Press Association quoted a source as saying.
The court heard how the 21-year-old smiled and pretended she was going to shake hands with the Mr. Timms before stabbing him twice with a kitchen knife. She was then restrained by an aide and a security guard.
"I attempted to push away the second lunge but was not successful," Mr. Timms had said.
"I retreated into the gents' toilet and lifted up my jumper and realized there was quite a lot of blood there so I realised I had been stabbed."
Mr. Timms, 55, has since made a full recovery following surgery.
Ms. Choudhry refused to attend court. She told her barrister Jeremy Dein that she did not accept its jurisdiction and did not wish him to challenge the prosecution case.
Ms. Choudhry, from east London, was also convicted of two counts of possessing an offensive weapon.
Mr. Timms, who was elected to parliament in 1994 after working in the telecommunications industry and serving on a local council, held several ministerial posts under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his predecessor Mr. Blair.