Man-handling climate change protestors

[Leafyhouse]

Anyone else watch with horror as a climate change protestor was forcefully removed by Mark Field from the Mansion House speech? I mean, I'm no fan of political activism, 'direct action' and so on, but she wasn't presenting him with any direct threat, just shouting and being annoying. AIBU to think that his behaviour was totally unacceptable there?

Don't understand some of these responses. She was walking past - all he had to do was stand up, block her path and call over security
This. A million times over.

I’ve seen the vid, I think he’s in trouble(good). It’s too aggressive. No attempt to ask her to leave. No attempt at sheperding her out. Just a shove, arm up the back and a neck grab. I’d take it to the police in a heartbeat.

Where was security? She could have been armed. Would she have left quietly.
I’m no Tory but feel protesters can’t get upset about being removed from places they’re ‘storming’.

He assaulted her. Whether you agree with what she was doing is irrelevant. He doesn't have the right to grab her by the neck and shove her up against a pillar. He should be prosecuted but I bet he gets away with it.

Was was probably the MPs security man, they are trained to do this. Woman wanted to make trouble, won’t make any difference to climate change.

I went to a work dinner last night and was just trying to imagine what I would do if there was an intruder who had got past security and was shouting and walking around the tables close to where we were sitting.

It could be quite frightening, you don't know what the person might do at that point. His reaction seems over the top and violent, but I honestly don't know what I would do in the same situation, but either a fight, flight or freeze response would be equally reasonable.

He was rough. BUT She would have been expecting a forceful removal. You can’t expect to storm a room full of MPs without being tackled. Though to be fair she was probably expecting it to be the police or security.

He is a dick though.

Nothing is as Tory as a female climate change protester being manhandled out of a swanky black tie event by a male MP.

That's basically their whole manifesto in one short video clip.

I have just seen the footage on the news.

From the MP''s point of view there is an intruder heading up to the top table where the Defence Secretary is speaking. Have we forgotten what happened to Jo Cox? And the death threats which Anna Soubry got?

That woman had NO RIGHT to be in the room - it was a private event and not a public space.

Good for him.

It looks very very violent, the way he grips her neck you can tell he isn't in control of himself, but obviously motivated by anger. I suspect it is not the first time he has manhandled a woman. Completely unnecessary.

Did you also see him applauded by the rest of the attendees at the end of the clip. No doubt they'll be lining up to condem him today once they see what way the wind is blowing.

@zippey, it would only be justified if she posed a threat of violence. There is nothing in that video indicating that she did, and if she did I would have expected the security guards to have dealt with her long before.

How do the people sitting there know she is just a protester and not a terrorist? How do you make that judgement call?

I'm afraid this is inevitable now. As a previous poster has mentioned, following Jo Cox, let alone terrorist attacks, death threats to MPs, they are going to be more inclined to react quickly rather than think it through first.

A still photo

I think it's easy to pass judgement on something where you were not there at the time.

Yes, the lady was just shouting, but there have been things thrown at political figures, threats made towards them etc.

So when someone who shouldn't be there walks in shouting, the people in that room will have had no idea what the lady would do next, and may well have been scared.

She could have had a weapon or acid in her bag. They did not know. Stopping her from getting any further and getting her out of there is a fairly natural response.

Sure, the man was heavy handed, but he was stopping her and getting her out. As most blokes aren't used to manhandling women, it would be easy to over estimate the amount of force needed.

I cannot stand that particular MP. I think he is a thug anyway. But I can still see how this happened, and how he may well be seen to have been acting within the laws of self defence and "reasonable force".

It is ghastly but post Jo Cox's murder, all MPs are going to be twitchy about up close unauthorised protest.

How convenient that it was a petite female he suspected of being armed and dangerous (but not so dangerous that he hesitated to lay hands on her).

And for the "we have just declared a climate emergency" amongst you, declaring an emergency and then continuing business as usual (fracking, 3rd runway, no tax on aviation fuel etc) actually achieves nothing. You have to actually do stuff.

He assaulted her. Whether you agree with what she was doing is irrelevant

I don't think it is irrelevant. If the people in the room didnt know she was a climate change protester, and just heard shouting, they are going to react without processing.

As someone said upthread, Jo Cox was murdered, Anna Soubry has been threatened, as has Jess Phillips. Protecting yourself and more vulnerable, female, colleagues would be a pretty instinctive response to many there.

Right to peaceful protest doesn't extend to invading a private function and frightening people does it?

So are you saying just because she was female and petite she couldn't be dangerous? Nice profiling

And for the "we have just declared a climate emergency" amongst you, declaring an emergency and then continuing business as usual (fracking, 3rd runway, no tax on aviation fuel etc) actually achieves nothing. You have to actually do stuff

Fine, but if the "stuff" you do isn't through proper channels in non-private situations, then don't complain when people are scared and react to that fear.

And this woman has got EXACTLY what she wanted, coverage on all the major news bulletins and everyone talking about her. It couldn't have gone better if she tried.

"Woman ejected by security" isn't nearly as good a headline as "Petite female slammed up against pillar and strangled by vicious, Tory MP".

@lsatis - I think his actions came from an angry place rather than a worried one. However, should we wait for violence to take place before acting? Eg if your house is being subjected to a burglary, do you wait for the intruder to become violent before defending yourself or do you become physical with them as soon as they enter your house?

I think in all honesty, reasonable force was used here. He didn’t punch or hit her. He merely grabbed her and forcibly shoved her out. I think that’s reasonable with regard to the anti social behaviour she was exhibiting.

So many man handler apologists!

Jo Cox was murdered by a man
Anna Soubry verbal assaults were made by men
Jess Phillips threat was made by a man

The woman was walking passed the dickhead MP when he ASSAULTED her.

It is an assault made by an MP.

From the MP''s point of view there is an intruder heading up to the top table where the Defence Secretary is speaking. Have we forgotten what happened to Jo Cox? And the death threats which Anna Soubry got?

That woman had NO RIGHT to be in the room - it was a private event and not a public space

Exactly

I have been in a room when protesters have invaded the place. It was scary and very threatening.

Nobody knew who she was or what she was going to do. I thought his actions in the circumstances, which were clearly instinctive, were not unreasonable.