Face of Nation : A Foreign Office minister is facing questions over his future after footage emerged of him pushing a female climate activist against a pillar.
Around 40 Greenpeace protesters gatecrashed the Chancellor’s annual address at Mansion House in the City of London and had to be removed by security.
Mark Field, the Foreign Office minister for Asia and the Pacific, was seen grabbing one woman when she walked past his chair at the dinner.
Footage showed Mr Field swinging out of his seat to shove the protester into the wall behind, before apparently leading her from the room with a grip on the back of her neck.
The MP for the Cities of London and Westminster can be heard saying: “Can you get this person out?” The woman, wearing a sash reading “climate emergency”, replied: “It’s a peaceful protest.”
MPs were quick to condemn the actions of Mr Field, with Dawn Butler, the shadow secretary for Women and Equalities, saying on Twitter: “He must be immediately suspended or sacked.”
Labour MP Jess Phillips tweeted: “She posed no credible threat from what I can see. There is very little else that could justify this and anyone can see that this could have been done without physical contact. Every MP has to deal with protest and conflict, it is done with words. To watch this is so so awful.”
Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna described Mr Field’s actions as “totally unacceptable” while Independent MP Sarah Wollaston said it was “Absolutely shameful, a male MP marching a woman out of a room by her neck.”
However, Sir Peter Bottomley, the Tory MP, defended Mr Field, saying he had done nothing wrong.
When asked if Mr Field had been heavy-handed with the protester by grabbing her by the back of the neck, Sir Peter responded: “No, he reversed her direction and she looked as though she went willingly.
“I think there’s no reason to criticise Mark Field… Of course it wasn’t an assault, it was a reversal of direction.”
Footage of the incident was later played to Alistair Burt, the Foreign Office minister, on BBC’s Newsnight programme. Asked if Mr Field should be sacked over the episode, Mr Burt said: “Mark can answer for himself but it looks to be a very difficult situation for everyone concerned.”
The City of London Police said no activists had been arrested as a result of the disruption. The Foreign Office were contacted for comment.
The Chancellor had just begun an address setting out the risks posed to the British economy by a no-deal Brexit when he was interrupted.
Several minutes of confusion ensued as officials attempted to remove the activists from the room, who could be heard yelling: “This is a climate emergency.”
Mr Hammond went on to deliver a riposte to the protesters when he returned to the microphone, telling the Egyptian Hall: “The irony, of course, is this is the government that has just led the world by committing to a zero carbon economy by 2050.”
His quip was greeted by cheers and applause from those in attendance.
The annual dinner is hosted by the Lord Mayor of London for around 350 guests including the Governer of the Bank of England.
Mr Hammond told the dinner any failure to deliver Brexit would put the job of the next Prime Minister “on the line”, along with the “jobs and prosperity” of millions across the country.
Areeba Hamid, climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “The people in this room have been funding climate change, and we’re not giving the banks and hedge funds a pass for their unethical investment decisions anymore.”
