Siege of Sidney Street- Picture of the day

Winston Churchill (centre left, in top hat) stands amidst a crowd of police and soldiers during the infamous shoot-out with alleged anarchists who were holed-up in a terraced house in Stepney, East London. The fugitives were believed to have been involved in the murder of three policemen in a botched burglary, two of them died in a fire which swept through the house after Churchill prevented firefighters from tending to the blaze, a third man is believed to have escaped. Churchill was criticised for his role in the incident. The Tory leader Arthur Balfour later commented "We are concerned to observe photographs in the illustrated newspapers of the Home Secretary in the danger-zone. I understand what the photographer was doing, but why the Home Secretary?"
Illustration: Photograph: PA