Prescott was assaulted and actually thought he was bleeding (it was egg running down his neck) when he reacted and threw the punch, but afterwards both he and his assailant were interviewed by the police and neither wanted to pursue a case so the police decided to drop it.
Tory MP assaults protester
- Thread starter Nic Robinson
- Start date
Prescott was assaulted and actually thought he was bleeding (it was egg running down his neck) when he reacted and threw the punch, but afterwards both he and his assailant were interviewed by the police and neither wanted to pursue a case so the police decided to drop it.
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
Totally different scenario.
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
OK, we will agree to disagree.
FWIW I think he went to far, BUT who knows what might have happened had he not - had she been armed - he wasn't to know.
I've not seen, has she pressed charges yet?
You can't use that excuse. There has to be reasonable grounds for those sort of actions and Greenpeace are very very well known as peaceful protesters so the chances of her being armed were just about as close to zero as it's possible to get. If we all decided to assault people we thought might be armed or threatening then the country would dissolve into total anarchy. If a youth did that to a woman who was rushing past him on a crowded street because he felt she might be a threat he'd be in police cells faster than you can say Mark Field.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
Actually Mark Field MP covered himself in it already, no need.
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
It's not an excuse, it's context.
If he is prosectued and found guilty then I will accept it was assault in the eyes of the law.
The Far North
pfm Member
Could this be what they meant by "Taking back control" and a sign of how things might be? 
Nic Robinson
Moderator
Really? I've (in my teaching days) had reasonable cause to think a kid approaching me might be armed. I was still not justified in assaulting them just in case. You need to think your position through and (I'll ask you again) imagine it was your daughter taking place in this peaceful protest. By the way, there were some 40 of them. This thug was not acting instinctively.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
You seem to flit between pedantry (assaulted? hes not been charged) and implausible ‘what ifs’ (she could have been carrying a weapon). ‘What ifs’ that seem curiously devoid of common sense.
Stunsworth
pfm Member
Never having been to one of these events, is drink taken before or after the speeches?
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
I think you might describe it as a more muscular form of Conservatism. They’re not going to be pushed around any more, not least by women making a fuss*.Could this be what they meant by "Taking back control" and a sign of how things might be?
*Peter Bottomley. We know what happens to women who do that.
Tony L
Administrator
I’ve just seen the footage on Sky News. Clearly assault. Couldn’t possibly be viewed as anything else. The girl was just walking towards the front of the room, when she got to the Tory MP he threw her against a pillar and then grabbed her and forced her out holding her by the neck. An utter thug.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
No chance, had it been a man he’d have followed standard police advice “run, hide, tell”.
Observe,
He may have rely on the defence that he wasn’t sober (which probably explains the level of enthusiasm he showed).
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
Well, one is in a conference hall and the other would be in a school, but I don’t see how the different scenarios excuse the behaviour. Mark Field clearly and obviously made no attempt to restrain the protester, instead, he launched himself at her from a seated position and struck at her throat. He didn’t approach her from the front, he made no attempt to block the protester, no, he ambushed her from the side and went aimed at her head. Only the most rabid right winger can see innocence in the MP’s action. I just see an aggressive, empowered bully overcome by anger.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
If a policeman or security officer had ejected the woman it would not have made the news. Nor would anyone be accusing said officer of assault.
And to argue that it was a peaceful protest? that can only be guessed at with the benefit of hindsight. Thirty years ago you would have assumed that. In modern times in central London that could be a dangerous assumption.
Greenpeace of course got what they wanted - far more publicity than they can have dreamt of.
And to argue that it was a peaceful protest? that can only be guessed at with the benefit of hindsight. Thirty years ago you would have assumed that. In modern times in central London that could be a dangerous assumption.
Greenpeace of course got what they wanted - far more publicity than they can have dreamt of.
farfromthesun
pfm Member
BBC article quoted him saying similar and that's when I knew I didn't need to read anymore. It's an absolutely pathetic attempt to try and create some semblance of mitigation, because he clearly knows he's in the shit for acting like the piece of shit that he clearly is. She was about to walk past him before he pounced on her. Stop defending the indefensible.
If a police officer (there are women in the police you know) had ejected the woman they would have done so by first asking her to leave and then being physical as a last resort, but even then they wouldn't have grabbed her throat. You are making excuses for something that excuses cannot be made for!
Nic Robinson
Moderator
You really think that's how the Police do the job?
hifilover1979
Bigger than you...
Haha; what kind of pi$$-ant snowflake society are we in these days?
All these complaints of how people are 'disgusted' by this action etc... She's somehow managed to get in, passed security with an aim to cause disruption. She's a security threat and has been treated as such. If it was a bloke, no one would say a thing, but it's not, its a women and the whole world and it's bandwagon jump on the back of it...
That's the more pathetic thing about this
Stop being so pathetic, stop being so soft, stop being so overly PC and just accept that she got what she deserved! There are ways and means of doing things; she did it wrong, she got booted out! End of, tough shit!
All these complaints of how people are 'disgusted' by this action etc... She's somehow managed to get in, passed security with an aim to cause disruption. She's a security threat and has been treated as such. If it was a bloke, no one would say a thing, but it's not, its a women and the whole world and it's bandwagon jump on the back of it...
That's the more pathetic thing about this
Stop being so pathetic, stop being so soft, stop being so overly PC and just accept that she got what she deserved! There are ways and means of doing things; she did it wrong, she got booted out! End of, tough shit!