Probe into ex-Foreign Office minister Mark Field over a clash with a climate change protester is DROPPED after he is sacked by Boris Johnson in Government reshuffle
- A probe into whether Mark Field breached the ministerial code has been closed
- Mr Field was replaced as a Foreign Office minister by the new PM last week
- Labour’s Louise Haigh said ‘it’s not good enough’, demanding Field lose the whip
A Tory MP will no longer face a Government probe into a violent clash with a climate change protester after Boris Johnson sacked him from his ministerial post, Downing Street confirmed today.
Mark Field had been suspended as a Foreign Office minister by Theresa May after he manhandled Greenpeace activist Janet Barker at a high-profile dinner.
In footage that went viral on Twitter he grabbed Ms Barker by the neck as she approached a group of diners that included then-chancellor Philip Hammond, before frog-marching her away.
His actions provoked an uproar about his use of force.
But a Cabinet Office probe into whether the 54-year-old breached the ministerial code has been dropped as Mr Field is no longer a minister.
A Number 10 source said Mr Johnson believed the incident should have been dealt with by Mrs May while she was still in office.
‘Mark Field has now left the Government,’ the source said.
The footage showed Mr Field grabbing Ms Barker as she tried to walk past diners
The minister, pictured in London, referred himself to the Cabinet Office and was suspended by Theresa May pending an independent investigation
‘The current PM considers this issue was a matter for the previous PM concerning his conduct during his time as a minister under her appointment.’
As he was in an unpaid post he will not receive a pay-off after being removed.
Last night Mr Field said: ‘I am hugely relieved that the matter is now considered closed.’
The Cities of London and Westminster MP was a prominent supporter of Mr Johnson’s leadership rival Jeremy Hunt and it is no surprise he was sacked when the new Prime Minister appointed his Government.
Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow policing minister, said: ‘Never mind not being fit for a job in government, Mark Field isn’t fit to be an MP.
‘It’s not good enough for the Prime Minister to say that he considers the matter settled.
‘Having previously failed to condemn his actions, this is a test of Boris Johnson’s attitude towards women. He should kick him out of the Conservative party immediately.’
Mr Field marched Mrs Barker away after confronting her in footage that later went viral and sparked a debate about his use of force
Janet Barker was later revealed as the Greenpeace activist that Mr Field pushed against a column and held around the neck, before marching her out of the room
Mr Field clashed with Ms Barker as Greenpeace protesters disrupted the black-tie Mansion House event in the City of London.
At the time of the incident in June, Ms Barker said she had been left ‘shaken up’ after Mr Field grabbed her by the neck and marched her out of the room as Greenpeace staged a peaceful protest.
‘I was armed with peer reviewed science – the message that we were giving out. That’s all I was armed with,’ she said.