A Tory minister is facing calls to resign after forcibly removing a climate change protester from an event for City grandees last night
Greenpeace protesters wearing red dresses stormed the annual Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House as Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered a speech on the ‘state of UK politics’ and how Brexit could impact the UK economy.
As the protesters mingled around dinner tables, one walked towards the table where Conservative MP Mark Field was sat. Noticing her marching towards him, Mr Field stood up and was filmed pushing her against a pillar before marching her out of the building.
His actions have sparked mass debate on social media where many people have slammed him for his behaviour towards the woman, while others stated he was right to react the way he did.
Meanwhile members of the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have called for the government to suspend or sack him.
Shadow women and equalities minister Dawn Butler said the footage was ‘horrific’ and highlighted that he ‘should be immediately suspended or sacked’.
This is while one social media user said: ‘How do you know if this individual didn’t have a device strapped to herself? I put myself in Mark Field’s situation – literally seconds to react. If she did have a device on her, we would be looking at MF as a hero. I wonder?!’
But other users disagreed with his behavior and one said: ‘Presumably #MarkField is being questioned at the nearest police station.’
Foreign office minister Mark Field was caught on camera forcefully grabbing a female Greenpeace protester at the Mansion House dinner in London
He was then seen grabbing her around the neck, pictured, as he ejected her
Following the protest the Chancellor continued with his speech where he mentioned the state of politics in the UK
One protester was seen being led away by by a man in his black tie attire, as she looked to the floor
Mark Field (pictured above) was filmed last night at the annual dinner pushing a woman agaisnt a pillar
Meanwhile, former cabinet minister Ed Davey, who is also a Lib Dem leader candiadate said: ‘The sight of some penguin-suited Tory minister behaving in a violent way towards a female Greenpeace activist absolutely stinks. Shame on you.’
Alistair Burt, a former colleague of Mr Field said that he ‘would answer for himself’.
Speaking to Newsnight he said: ‘I’ve only just seen that clip…I’ve no appreciation of the context of anything like that. Mark will answer for himself. But it looks to be a very difficult situation for everyone concerned.’
It was also revealed earlier this year that Mr Field has sent a letter to Commissioner Cressida Dick, where he stated that the police should take a ‘firm grip’ on Extinction Rebellion protesters.
The group of women at the protest lined up wearing red dresses and also had sashes which displayed climate change messages.
Security ejected the women from the annual event, which was held in the City of London.
Meanwhile during the event in London a voice off camera was heard shouting: ‘You have made your point now so if you could kindly leave.’
The Chancellor stayed in the room while he waited for security to deal with the situation as protesters clapped and chanted.
Mr Field pushed the woman, wearing a red dress and a sash with a climate change message on, up against a pillar, pictured
He then grabbed her by the arm, pictured, and marched her out of the room in London
Despite the disruption, Mr Hammond continued with his speech with a smile on his face.
The protesters were among 40 volunteers who ‘gatecrashed’ the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, according to Greenpeace.
Footage showed several women being ushered out of the banquet hall as attendees in black tie looked on.
This is while footage also showed Mr Field pushing a woman away from him during the event. His actions have divided many people across social media. Some said he had been right to forcibly remove her, while others where appalled at his behaviour.
His actions had sparked users to dig up a tweet from Mr Field earlier in the year where he outlined his views on women in the work place.
A tweet from Mr Field earlier this year which states his support for women being able to speak freely
Sian Ifans said that Mr Field’s behavior had out women’s rights back by 200 years
One Twitter user said no-one had applauded Mark Field following his behavior at Mansion House
One Twitter user names Adam said that other memebers of government needed to ‘get a grip’ of Mark Field
In the tweet, dated May 9, he said: ‘The UK remains committed to helping women all over the world to feel safe and protected in the work they do, so they can speak freely and be part of the change we all want.’
People who felt his actions were out of hand said: ‘PM hopeful & Foreign Secretary @Jeremy_Hunt needs to get a grip of this situation with his departmental colleague, Mark Field, as soon as possible. Quite astonishingly, several of his backers are defending Mark’s behaviour towards a female protestor. A question of judgement…’
Another user, observing the behaviour of the people around Mr Field said: ‘Noticeably, no-one applauded him’.
Another user Sian Ifans said: ‘Presumably #MarkField is being questioned at the nearest police station as we mourn over the greatest setback to women’s rights in 200 years.’
This is while other users took Mr Field’s side and noted that it hadn’t been clear what the woman had intended to do.
James Cook said everyone had been very quick to judge Mark Field following the incident at Mansion House
One account tweeted that people should ot themselves in Mr Field’s shoes before jumping to conclusions
Bob Dee said people’s reactions to the video had been nonsense and said Mr Field was at the ‘reasonable end’ of the Tory MP spectrum
One woman called Jackie said that our security was pathetic and that she could have been trying to attack Mr Field
One Twitter user, James Cook said everyone had been ‘quick to judge’ Mr Field for his behaviour.
He added: ‘I reckon that protester was planning some pretty offensive tweets later.’
Another highlighted that it wasn’t clear what the woman had been doing and that Mr Field had been right to react.
‘How do you know if this individual didn’t have a device strapped to herself? I put myself in Mark Field’s situation – literally seconds to react. If she did have a device on her, we would be looking at MF as a hero. I wonder?!’
This is while Bob Dee tweeted that the situation was ‘nonsense’.
‘There’s no ‘strangling’, the protesters weren’t going to walk out meekly, and Mark Field is at the very reasonable end of the Tory MP spectrum’.
Another added that the woman had broke int Mansion House and had been marching towards Mark Field and labelling him a ‘hero’ for grabbing her as it could have been an attack.
Mr Field had also been criticised recently for kissing Jeremy Hunt’s wife Lucia Hunt, at an event in London
Mr Field was also recently criticised for his behaviour towards Jeremy Hunt’s wife, Lucia Hunt.
On June 10 he was pictured holding Mrs Hunt’s head in his hands and kissing her with his eyes closed.
They had been attending the launch of Mr Hunt’s Conservative Party leadership campaign in London.
When he kissed Mrs Hunt, others around them looked shocked, while some had smiles on their faces.
After the protesters were escorted out last night Mr Hammond said: ‘The irony is that this is Government that has just led the world by committing to a zero carbon economy by 2050.’
The women lined up and were wearing special sashes that had the word ‘climate’ on them
The comment was met with applause.
Continuing his speech Hammond said he couldn’t imagine a Conservative and Unionst-led government, ‘actively pursuing a no-deal Brexit willing to risk the union and our economic prosperity.’
He added: ‘I will fight, and fight again, to remake the case for pragmatism and, yes, for compromise in our politics – to ensure an outcome that protects the union and the prosperity of the United Kingdom.’
Touching on the leadership campaign, he added that the UK’s politics are ‘not in such good shape’.
He said: ‘It may be that I’m wrong, and a new leader will persuade Parliament to accept the deal it has already rejected, or that the European Union does a 180-degree U-turn and reopens the Withdrawal Agreement.
‘If your plan A is undeliverable, not having a plan B is like not having a plan at all,’ he added.
Mr Hammond, who has not declared who he is backing, called for the would-be premiers to be ‘honest with the public’.
In a hint at the possibility of a second referendum, he said: ‘If the new prime minister cannot end the deadlock in Parliament, then he will have to explore other democratic mechanisms to break the impasse.
The activists were seen inside Mansion House and had managed to mingle amongsnt the tables
Greenpeace activist were seen being led down the stairs at Mansion House. No police action is said to have been taken agaisnt the women
‘Because if he fails, his job will be on the line – and so too will the jobs and prosperity of millions of our fellow citizens.’
He also said that the parliamentary arithmetic will not change unless there is an election, Parliament will block No Deal, and will not support the withdrawal deal as it stands.
The Chancellor highlighting parliamentary arithmetic and behaviour comes as a letter from MP Mark Field to Cressida Dick was revealed.
In the letter, dated 18 April 2019, he addresses the Extinction Rebellion protests which had taken place across London earlier this year.
The letter above from Mr Field to Cressida Dick which states that a ‘firm grip’ need to be taken on climate change protesters
In it he said: ‘I am sure you will agree that what we have seen over the past few days goes well beyond a good-natured excersise in free speech and that the detrimental effect these protests are having on ordinary citizens and local business is much too great for the protesters, however well intentioned to be allowed in such a flagrant way.’
He went on to say that he didn’t underestimate the challenge police were facing and that he was ‘very grateful’ for its efforts so far.
‘I should be most grateful if, as a matter of urgency, you would take a much firmer grip on this problem and for the law to be applied to its full extent agaisnt those who, despite fair warning, insist on protesting in this anti-social way.’
Signing off the letter, he thanked her for her assistance and that he looked forward to hearing from her.
Greenpeace UK tweeted its respose to Mr Field’s actions during the dinner this evening
In reponse to his behaviour, Greenpeace UK also tweeted their response, they said: ‘Instead of assaulting peaceful women protesters, @MarkFieldUK would be better off spending his time tackling the #ClimateEmergency’
After the Chancellor’s speech the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney joined the stage – where he was met with applause.
During the speech Governor Carney talked about a new emerging economy, which would be driven by changes in technology.
He said: ‘This new economy requires a new finance: one that serves the digital economy, is more efficient, inclusive, sustainable and resilient. And, this new finance demands a new Bank of England.’
One woman had a letter in her hand as she was escorted out of the building which is in the City of London
Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney during the annual Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House in London
Areeba Hamid, climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: ‘This is a climate emergency. Business as usual is no longer an option. The real bottom line, the priority that needs to come before all others, is not profit, revenue or growth, but survival. That needs to be recognised in every boardroom and on every balance sheet, starting with the Chancellor’s.
‘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. The Treasury is the Government’s banker. It plays the same role propping up vested interests and blocking progress on climate change.
‘But science demands a radical programme of policy interventions and public investment if our economy is to survive the coming storm. The serious, sensible, grey-suited grown-ups in the room ignored the warning signs and crashed the economy in 2008. We can’t afford to let them crash the climate too.’
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.’
After the speech Mr Hammond tweeted that he was ‘always open to debate’ following the protests
Greenpeace UK replied almost immediately and said he hadn’t shown the leadership to take real action agaisnt the Climate Emergency
After the speech Mr Hammond tweeted: ‘Proud to underline UK’s world leading commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 tonight at #MansionHouse. Always open to the debate.’
In response to this Greenpeace UK tweeted: ‘Actually, you’ve sought to water down and delay government action on climate change in recent weeks! It’s not a question of debate – the science is clear. What we need is real action to tackle this #ClimateEmergency and you haven’t shown the leadership required to do that.
‘Wrong on every level’: Furious Brexiteers turn on Chancellor Philip Hammond as he backs second referendum as option to break deadlock and vows to ‘fight and fight’ against No Deal
Tory Eurosceptic MPs attacked Philip Hammond earlier today prior to the Chancellor’s speech this evening to urge the next prime minister to consider holding a second Brexit referendum.
The Chancellor told City of London chiefs that Theresa May’s deal remains the best way for the UK to leave the EU in an orderly fashion.
He suggested that if that deal cannot get through Parliament then Mrs May’s successor will have to consider ‘other democratic mechanisms’ to resolve the impasse.
The Chancellor (pictured leaving Parliament on June 18) is a vocal opponent to a No Deal divorce from the EU and this evening he will reiterate his intention to ‘fight’ such a move
He also vowed to ‘fight and fight’ against No Deal in comments seen as a direct challenge to Boris Johnson, the frontrunner to be the next Tory leader, who has suggested he would take the UK out of the EU on October 31 with or without an agreement.
The intervention sparked fury among Tory Brexiteers who are vehemently opposed to holding a second referendum.
Simon Clarke, a Conservative Eurosceptic MP, said: ‘This is wrong on every level. Wrong because it would shatter faith in politics.
‘Wrong because it would usher in a ruinous Government led by Jeremy Corbyn.
‘And wrong because it would not bring resolution to the issue – if a second referendum, why not a third? Terrible.’
Mr Hammond’s strong opposition to No Deal raises the prospect of him voting with Labour to bring down a government led by Mr Johnson if it sought to pursue a disorderly split from the bloc.