A suspended Tory minister grabbed a female protester by the neck and people are horrified

Conservative Foreign Office minister and Tory MP Mark Field has now been suspended from his post after he was accused of assault after he was filmed grabbing a female protestor as she interrupted a speech by Chancellor Phillip Hammond.

Mark Field, Tory MP for Cities of London and Westminster, was suspended from his post by prime minister Theresa May after footage of him grabbing the climate change activist by the neck and pushing her against a pillar, at an event in the City, went viral.

In a statement about the incident, a Number 10 spokeswoman said:

The prime minister has seen the footage and found it very concerning.

The incident occurred when Greenpeace led a 40-strong protest interrupting the chancellor's annual Mansion House speech, which was being broadcast live on television.

Speaking to the Huffington Post, Areeba Hamid, Climate Campaigner for Greenpeace UK said:

We were shocked at the footage of an elected MP and government minister assaulting one of our peaceful protestors at the Mansion House tonight.

The protestor in question was hoping to discuss climate change and the economic reforms we need with the financiers and bankers at the dinner.

In a statement to ITV News, Mr Field said:

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.

As a result I grasped the intruder firmly in order to remove her from the room as swiftly as possible.

The incident has caused outrage on social media, with many condemning the footage.

Many MPs said they were 'horrified' by the footage.

Others called for him to resign.

And many were disgusted.

However, there were some who defended Mr Field.

While others couldn't believe that they were attempting to defend him.

A City of London Police spokesman said:

We were alerted at 9.03pm. We were called by security at Mansion House who let us know there were a group of protesters who had gained entry and were refusing to leave.

Officers arrived to help with their ejection. Once in the presence of the police, the protesters were co-operative and left the premises. No arrests were made.

HT Huffington Post

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