‘It’s disgraceful and un-British’: Tory MP Sir Charles Walker rages at police as they bundle spread-eagled elderly woman into a van during peaceful ‘anti-lockdown’ protest outside Parliament
- Sir Charles called police ‘an outrage’ as he watched their arrest on Tuesday
- Later appeared in the Commons to demand the PM come down to ‘sort this out’
- ‘This is a disgrace. This is un-British. It is unconstitutional and this Government, our Prime Minister needs to end these injustices now,’ Sir Charles told the House
- Various reports said woman, 72, was protesting lockdown, others said vaccines
Tory MP Sir Charles Walker has raged at ‘disgraceful and un-British’ police officers as they bundled an elderly woman into a van for protesting outside Parliament.
The former chair of the 1922 Committee told the officers that their actions were ‘an outrage’ as he walked across towards Portcullis House on Tuesday afternoon.
Various reports said that the 72-year-old woman was participating either in an anti-lockdown protest or an anti-vaccine demonstration.
Raising the incident as a point of order, Sir Charles told the Commons: ‘I have just witnessed an elderly lady peacefully protesting with a handful of other people be arrested and carried spread-eagle to a police van just outside the precinct of the House of Commons.
‘This is a disgrace. This is un-British. It is unconstitutional and this Government, our Prime Minister needs to end these injustices now.
Police officers drag the 72-year-old woman across the pavement as she is arrested outside Parliament on Tuesday
Sir Charles Walker called it ‘an outrage’ as he vented at police officers arresting the woman today
The protester is carried spread-eagled towards a waiting police van
Sir Charles Walker, Conservative MP for Broxbourne, gave it both barrels in the chamber this afternoon after witnessing an elderly protester be carted off by police
The woman is bundled into the back of a waiting police van on Tuesday afternoon
The elderly woman’s head hangs down as officers cart her off towards a police van
Sir Charles remonstrating with police officers (left) before walking away and shaking his head (right)
‘Madam Deputy Speaker, will you bring the Prime Minister and/or the Home Secretary here today to sort this out?
‘She was an old lady robbed of her dignity for having the courage to protest about having her fundamental rights and those of my constituents and others removed.’
Responding to the point of order, deputy Commons speaker Dame Rosie Winterton said: ‘I thank the honourable gentleman for his point of order. I can see that this is obviously an extremely distressing situation.
‘I shall of course ensure that the Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle) is aware of the honourable gentleman’s comments.
‘But I also know that we have ministers here who I’m sure will ensure that his comments are fed back and his very strong views on the incident that happened.’
Tom Ridgway, who witnessed the incident, said: ‘I saw an elderly woman, apparently an anti-lockdown protester, being bundled into the back of a police van at 2pm outside the entrance to Parliament.
‘I only saw one other protester who was shouting, it didn’t seem to be an organised protest.’
As Sir Charles walked across he said tot he officers: ‘You must have mothers? What an outrage! What a disgrace! This is an absolute disgrace.’
The Conservative has been a staunch critic of Boris Johnson’s coronavirus policy and voted against the most recent national lockdown.
Sir Charles, the member for Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, described the legislation as a ‘drift further into an authoritarian, coercive state.’
Sir Charles (right) watches on in fury as the elderly woman is ‘robbed of her dignity’ (left)
Elderly woman is carried off to the van by officers Tuesday
Sir Charles looks on anxiously as the shocking incident unfolds
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: ‘At 13:00hrs on Tuesday, 24 November, Police were on scene at a protest in Buckingham Gate, SW1.
‘A group had come together to protest. Police engaged with those present and explained the current restrictions around gatherings of more than two people.
‘Two women refused to engage and were subsequently arrested for breaching the coronavirus restrictions.
‘A short while later part of the group had re-gathered outside the Palace of Westminster. A third woman refused to comply, was arrested for breaching the coronavirus restrictions and then became uncooperative with officers.
‘She was taken by police transport to custody.’