A British politician has been filmed grabbing a climate protestor at an event in London last night (Thursday 20 June), and frog-marching her out of the room.
Foreign Office Minister Mark Field is under investigation following the incident, having referred himself to the Cabinet Office.
Field has since apologised, claiming he reacted 'instinctively' as he believed the woman may have been armed, and could not see any security nearby.
"In the confusion many guests understandably felt threatened and when one protester rushed past me towards the top table I instinctively reacted," Field, who is Member of Parliament for Cities of London and Westminster, said in a statement to ITV.
"There was no security present and I was for a split-second genuinely worried she might have been armed.
"As a result I grasped the intruder firmly in order to remove her from the room as swiftly as possible.
"I deeply regret this episode and unreservedly apologise to the lady concerned for grabbing her but in the current climate I felt the need to act decisively to close down the threat to the safety of those present."
He added: "In view of the publicity around this incident I am referring myself to the Cabinet Office to examine whether there has been a breach of the ministerial code, and will of course co-operate fully with their investigation."
The incident happened at a swanky black tie event at Mansion House, towards the beginning of Chancellor Philip Hammond's annual speech about the state of the UK economy.
A group of Greenpeace protestors entered the room, dressed in red and wearing sashes that said 'climate emergency'.
A City of London Police spokesman confirmed they had been called to Mansion House after protesters refused 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," the spokesman said.
"No arrests were made."
Greenpeace has said it is 'shocked' at the response to the 'peaceful protest', with one of its climate campaigners, Areeba Hamid, saying: "The protester in question was hoping to discuss climate change and the economic reforms we need with the financiers and bankers at the dinner.
"Mark Field is the MP for the City and represents many of those financiers and bankers. We hope they will show a greater willingness to listen and understand the necessity for urgent action than their representative."
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