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Bridge success for former police officer
A RETIRED police officer who fought off assassins trying to kill the Israeli ambassador has tasted a new kind of success by helping England win the world bridge championships.
Colin Simpson, who lives in Fulmer, was a member of the England seniors team which beat other countries from across the world to win the championships, which this year took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
It is the second time that Mr Simpson has tasted fame in his life, the other occasion being in 1982, when he was working as a bodyguard for Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador to the UK at time.
Mr Argov was shot and injured by a group of three Lebanese assassins after a banquet at the Dorchester Hotel in London, and Mr Simpson managed to retaliate in time to fire back and hit the gunman who had attempted the assassination.
The three men were eventually convicted and given lengthy prison sentences, and the incident directly led to Israel's invasion of Lebanon the same year.
Since his retirement from the Metropolitan Police Force in 2002, Mr Simpson has developed his lifelong love of bridge and reached the pinnacle of his career with the win in Brazil.
He said: "It was a fantastic feeling, the best I've ever had when playing bridge. It was a very tough tournament and we played some really good teams, so to win was fantastic.
"We deserved our win and I'd say that we were the best team there. We were quite confident going into the tournament as we had three new players, which really helped."
The UK team beat Egypt in the quarter finals, Indonesia in the semis and Poland in the final itself.
It is the first time that the seniors trophy has not been one by the USA.
Mr Simpson said: "I think I've had two '15 minutes of fame' moments in my life now, having been involved with the incident in 1982. That's all ancient history now though, and I'm already looking forward to next year's European Championships in Belgium."
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