The incident occurred at an event in Mansion House
Foreign Office minister Mark Field is facing calls to resign after an incident involving a Greenpeace climate protester during chancellor Phillip Hammond’s speech at an event in Mansion House, London.
The incident, video of which emerged on Thursday night, has seen Field, the MP for Cities of London and Westminster, widely criticised, as well as being accused of assault by the environmental group Greenpeace.
Field has since apologised and stated that he had behaved “instinctively”, but claimed that he had feared that she may have been armed. He has referred himself to the Cabinet Office for investigation.
Instead of assaulting peaceful women protesters, @MarkFieldUK would be better off spending his time tackling the #ClimateEmergency. https://t.co/ribmL0w7OE
— Greenpeace UK (@GreenpeaceUK) June 20, 2019
The protester was one of a number of Greenpeace activists who gatecrashed the central London event, with many dressed in formal wear.
Video footage of the incident shows a woman in a red dress attempting to walk behind Field, who can be seen turning around and appearing to grab her by the neck, before escorting her out of the room.
This is so upsetting. The climate-change protestors were, according to the police and friends who were there, wholly peaceful. Why on earth does Field react with such ferocity? The violence of his intervention is quite wrong. https://t.co/q5OorQcQFr
— Robert Peston (@Peston) June 20, 2019
While he has received some support in response to the incident, it has led to calls for Field to step down, or be sacked by the government.
City of London Police said: “We have had a number of third-party reports of a possible assault. These are being looked into.”
