Conservative MP grabs climate change protester by the neck in London
Raw video: British government minister Mark Field physically restrains a Greenpeace activist protesting climate change at U.K. Chancellor Philip Hammond's speech to the annual Mansion House dinner in London's financial district.
A British lawmaker was suspended Friday by Prime Minister Theresa May’s office after a video appeared to show him violently removing a protester from an event the previous night.
Foreign Office Minister Mark Field received the suspension after officials raised questions about his treatment of the female protester during the annual gala Mansion House dinner Thursday night.
The finance minister, Philip Hammond, was addressing a crowd of foreign industry chiefs when activists, wearing red dresses and sashes reading "Climate Change Emergency," began disrupting the speech.
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Video from the black-tie event showed the female protester walking toward Hammond. At that point Field stopped her by shoving her into a pillar and forcibly turning her around. He then placed his hand firmly on the back of her neck and led her out of the room.
Mark Field, United Kingdom Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, speaks during the United Nations Security Council meeting on North Korea's nuclear program at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., December 15, 2017. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
The demonstration comes after climate change activists disrupted life and travel in the British capital in April, bringing parts of London to a standstill as they demanded net carbon emissions be reduced to zero by 2025.
In a statement to ITV, Field said he reacted “instinctively” to what he called “a major security breach” after thinking that the protester could have been armed.
“In the confusion, many guests understandably felt threatened and when one protester rushed past me towards the top table, I instinctively reacted. There was no security present and I was for a split-second genuinely worried she might have been armed.”
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“I deeply regret this episode and unreservedly apologise to the lady concerned for grabbing her but in the current climate I felt the need to act decisively to close down the threat to the safety of those present.”
Field’s suspension came after he publicly referred to himself to the Cabinet Office, which is officially investigating the incident along with the City of London Police and the Conservative party.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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