Tories urged to sack minister Mark Field for shoving climate protester

A senior Tory minister is facing calls to resign after footage emerged of him physically confronting..

A senior Tory minister is facing calls to resign after footage emerged of him physically confronting a female climate protester at a black tie dinner.

Mark Field, the Asia Minister, was filmed shoving a young woman against a pillar at this evening's Mansion House dinner.

The video then appears to show the MP for Cities of London and Westminster pushing the Greenpeace activist – part of a protest that disrupted a speech by Philip Hammond, the Chancellor – away from his table by the neck.

WATCH: Conservative MP Mark Field shoves a protestor against a pillar then grabs her by her neck and shoves her out of the Mansion House dinner after climate change protestors interrupted the banquet. pic.twitter.com/DFwZYxROfF

— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) June 20, 2019

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have already called for Field to be dismissed from his ministerial role over the incident.

Dawn Butler, the shadow women and equalities minister, described the footage as "horrific". She tweeted: "He must be immediately suspended or sacked."

Meanwhile Ed Davey, the former cabinet minister and Lib Dem leadership candidate, said Field was unfit for office. He wrote on Twitter: "The sight of some penguin-suited Tory minister behaving in a violent way towards a female Greenpeace activist absolutely stinks. Shame on you."

Government whips are understood to be investigating the clash but Field, who won a slim majority of 3,148 over Labour at the 2017 general election, is yet to comment.

Alistair Burt, his former Foreign Office colleague, told the BBCs Newsnight: "I've only just seen that clip…I've no appreciation of the context of anything like that. Mark will answer for himself. But it looks to be a very difficult situation for everyone concerned."

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