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Tony Blair takes it from behind with a Fully Loaded F4J 'Condom'
"Fathers for justice claim today's protest was a dramatic way of getting their message across" Two men have been charged with using
threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour following a "flour
bomb" attack in the House of Commons. Patrick Ronald Davis, 48, of
Worthing, Sussex, and farmer Guy Richard Harrison, 36, of Ashurst, Steyning,
Sussex, will appear in court next week. Two members of the Fathers 4 Justice group, who were guests of Labour peer Baroness Golding, were arrested after one man hurled three missiles at Mr Blair while another held a poster bearing photographs of their children.
Fathers 4 Justice claimed responsibility for
the incident. The incident comes just weeks after a £600,000 temporary
security screen was installed in the Commons. It appears the projectile may
have been thrown from an area of the gallery reserved for MPs' guests and
notable visitors.
Fathers 4 Justice
Reaction: Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Chancellor Gordon Brown, who were sitting either side of Mr Blair, both looked up at the public gallery as the dust descended at 12.18 BST. MPs were seen wafting something away from themselves as the House was suspended. Labour MP Kevin Brennan said a stain was "clearly visible on the back of Mr Blair's jacket as the dust hit him. Tory ex-minister Michael Portillo said he thought "one dose" of the dust had been thrown "before the prime minister reacted The prime minister only appeared to look round to his side at the second dose," he said. I thought it was likely to stain his coat or something, but as far as I could see, it was actually falling behind him. Commons leader Peter Hain said: This was a serious incident. I have asked for an immediate report on the circumstances and what additional security provisions may be necessary. Prime Minister's questions is not expected to be reconvened, and it is not yet clear whether the remaining Commons business will take place.
Commons Speaker
Michael Martin said a member of the House of Lords had signed in the visitor who disrupted
the proceedings.
He expected a full explanation from the peer by the end of the day and
suspended the right of Lords to sign in Commons visitors with immediate
effect.
Guy Harrison is the man who stopped Parliament when he threw purple powder at the Prime Minister. He is a millionaire businessman with no previous history of militancy or direct action. However he claims his experiences with the family law courts drove him to protest.
Guy Harrison threw the purple powder at Tony Blair Parents4Protest Comment:
Then suddenly if throwing some purple self-raising flour at a politician might just help in securing change and possible future contact to your children then what else can you do? L Bevan Matt O'Connor said Ron Davis and Guy Harrison, said by police to be aged 50 and 36, had still not seen a solicitor since being detained yesterday lunchtime. Speaking outside London's high security Paddington Green Police Station, where the two men are in custody, Mr O'Connor said there was no justification for their continued detention and claimed they were only being held for political reasons. The guys have been here since 12.20pm yesterday and they have not seen a legal representative," he said. "We have had a legal representative here since 4pm yesterday afternoon. We have had no contact with them at all. The Government, the authorities and the police, given the profile of the demonstration, are taking this very seriously and are treating the protesters as terrorists for throwing condoms filled with purple-coloured self-raising flour. There is no reason why these guys should be treated in such a way. They should be released. If they (the authorities) want to make an issue of this, we are happy to oblige. A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said two men remain in custody this morning in connection with yesterday's incident. Mr Davis, of Worthing, West Sussex, and Mr Harrison, of Steyning, West Sussex, were arrested yesterday on suspicion of criminal damage. Mr O'Connor indicated that a solicitor instructed by the group would be arriving at around 9am in the hope of seeing the two men this morning. He said he understood from police that they had already been questioned but said he did not know how they were or what they had said.
Newsnight BBC2
Used condom protest! |
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The House of
Commons has been suspended during Prime Minister's question time after what
appeared to be purple powder was thrown at Tony Blair.
Mr Blair was speaking during his weekly half-hour appearance in the Commons
when a projectile filled with purple powder hit him on his back. Commons Speaker Michael Martin interrupted the
proceedings, saying: "This House is now suspended."
