After Tory MP Mark Field was caught on camera violently assaulting a protester Janet Barker during the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Mansion House speech yesterday evening came the reaction. That reaction demonstrated not only the ridiculous extent to which political partisanship has taken over public discourse, but also the shameful inability of the media class to call that violent assault for what it was.
Mark Field - anger management issues
This is bang out of order. Media people take note
After ITV political editor Robert Peston called the incident correctly, telling “This is so upsetting. The climate-change protestors were, according to the police and friends who were there, wholly peaceful. Why on earth does Field react with such ferocity? The violence of his intervention is quite wrong”, he was set upon by his own side.
Iain Martin, he of “there is a clear public interest” (but not if it’s John Whittingdale), was first to admonish Peston for his excessive candour. “This illustrates the new political divide perfectly. Ultra liberals are appalled. Opponents of ultra-liberalism see a self-indulgent protestor breaching security and heading for the Chancellor three years after an MP was assassinated”. “Ultra-liberalism”. “Self-indulgent”. And faux regard for Jo Cox’s memory.
As Juliet Brown said in response, “Am I the only one struggling to understand how [the] death of a woman at the hands of a a male terrorist is being used to legitimise violence against women?” That’s a Fail for Martin. So would a woman care to defend him?
Contrarian Charlotte Gill would. “Hang on a minute. She was holding something in her hand. It could have been a weapon. He was trying to control the threat, as he saw it, in that moment with very limited information. If she'd had a weapon, he would have protected that table. What would you have done?” Except it had already been established that the Greenpeace protesters were peaceful. And it was clearly a mobile phone.
Elsewhere, in unreconstructed bigot territory, the odious Quentin Letts (let’s not) dispensed with such modern-day fads as subtlety, and frothed “Why on earth should Mark Field apologise? He played a blinder”. Because he just violently assaulted someone. Keep up.
But Letts was not alone. Mercenary hack Isabel Oakeshott made sure of that. “Yes it was ugly, but @MarkFieldUK made a split second decision to stop a potentially armed protestor going further. She looked very determined to get to the Chancellor. Imagine her fate at a similar event in the US!” That would depend on the colour of her skin, Ms O.
Meanwhile, Darren Crimes, oops, sorry, Grimes, decided to do what he does so often - talk well, but lie badly. “It’s of course never nice to see a woman been handled in such a way. But here’s an idea... maybe don’t charge towards the Chancellor and expect not to be grabbed and marched out of the door for quite an obvious and serious security breach!” Nobody was charging anywhere. And there are no ifs, just as there are no buts.
No comment
Perhaps the most shameful media intervention came from Laura Kuenssberg, who is supposed to be the BBC’s political editor (compare and contrast with Peston): “Clear Labour will push this tomorrow”. Tone deaf, as so often. Not a good look at all.
As former prosecutor Nazir Afzal reminded everyone, “There is no justification for this. It’s an assault & should be charged as such. No question”. Full stop, end of story.
Enjoy your visit to Zelo Street? You can help this truly independent blog carry on talking truth to power, while retaining its sense of humour, by adding to its Just Giving page at
25 comments:
If you think someone has a gun, how does grabbing them by the neck help?
Perhaps Field suspected the activist had a Kalashnikov AK=47 stuffed up her dress?
She was wearing a greenpeace banner across her body...whenever I think of gross violence, surprisingly Greenpeace doesn't ever spring to mind, what does is a single male with either distorted view of religion or politics..
If the woman-beater, and any of his defenders, ever encounters me, they better hope I'm being very forgiving.
The right has revealed their true colours, unmistakably- they like and defend vicious, potentially life threatening violence against women. Oakeshit and all the rest have shown us once and for all- the right in this country is evil, and no amount of hardship should stop us from educating the right-wing politics out of society altogether.
We are in a very real yet existential battle with evil. And the entire right wing are such. They must not be allowed to do anything at all.
Only a matter of time before corporate media called the ineffable Oakeshitt into action.
Kuenssberg was par for the right wing course.
Robert "Greed Is Good" Peston was a surprise though. He must have missed his tory medication.
All in all, what you would expect from a gutless gang of media jobsworths. Morally corrupt gimps.
Females want equality, then take it when it is dished out. The throat grab against a wall is a well known self-defence technique. I suggest she learns how to counter it. BTW in the US she would most likely be on a slab now.
@ 18:36.
So Field acted in "self defence"?
Jesus wept.
@6
Oh, the good old US of A where talk is cheap and so is life. Bigly fan eh? Well, be careful of what you wish for.
Her husband said of her " she's taking down the government, one Tory at a time. " She failed, a Tory defended himself.
No need to take the Lord's name in vain, thank you.
Bigly fan? No, just stating a fact that we are a soft touch and activists who think they know better than everyone else take advantage of it.
May had just made the world a safer place for the lawless with her reaction. Terrorists will have taken note.
The unpleasant smell of bullies closing ranks.
Witnessed in some schoolyards, but more frequently in Westminster.
"wholly peaceful" ? I can only presume the air raid siren these "peaceful protesters" set off was sounding the all-clear!
Oh FFS "terrorists will have taken note"- what utter balderdash, She wasn't even "charging". They are already re-writing the story and the disgraceful attempt to align it with the murder of Jo Cox is sickening.
@10
Not even Robert Peston agrees with you.
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1141960999597150208
No such thing as the media class. It's a meaningless term much like "political class". The simple fact that you have Robert Peston (who is clearly part of the media) and many others on one side, and other parts of the media on the other side show putting them under one term is meaningless.
Your attacks on the media are getting more Trumpian all the time.
"Bang out of order" ?
Forearm gripped, resistance, fell against column, turned around 180 degrees, still resisting, guided forward with minimum required effort and efficiency using a yoke hold to the back of the neck. Perfectly legitimate in the circumstances, which are a trespasser holding a bag attempting to get at the main speaker for what purpose we cannot know. "Wholly peaceful" with an air raid siren having been set off?
Do some real journalism and actually ask someone who was present AT THE TIME what was happening and get some context.
Then give him a commendation for quick thinking and reaction.
Why do they hate women so much? Why the hell do they hate women so much?
I feel sick. Just... indescribably sick.
Right wing politics is a cancer on humanity. F it.
Anonymous 20:44
You are a cancer. Woman haters like you aren't worth bothering with.
I'll take whatever name I like in vain, and everyone else will too.
@16
You demand "Do some real journalism and actually ask someone who was present AT THE TIME what was happening and get some context."
Well, Robert Peston did just that (See link in my 22:37 comment): -
'I have just spoken to a friend sitting close to Field, who confirms he felt the protestor posed no threat and that Field’s reaction seemed wholly disproportionate. “He over-reacted. It was awful”. He says what he found equally upsetting was that “when Mark returned to his seat a few people actually applauded”. My friend thought the applause was inappropriate, and showed that the protestors elicited a kind of sectarian tension in the audience.' - Twitter feed.
Not only is there TV footage of Field's behaviour in the room, there's CCTV footage of him manhandling the woman and forcibly pushing her out of the building. Security personnel should have taken over as the woman was clearly distressed by Field's aggression and she was of no danger to anyone.
Air raid sirens? WTF? Are you someone who lives inside a war comic?
Mark Field was angered that a woman had interrupted his din-dins.
Field is a total shit.
Anonymous @ 01:37
I was waiting at the recreation ground. Where were you bro?
Will you? Try dissing Islam then pal!
Cancer turns up uninvited like Greenpeace did.
So self-defence it was!
Can someone- perhaps Anon - explain how "self defence" is justified on the claim she may have had a weapon when the brute grabbed her around the throat and upper arm leaving her hands free to shove a bloody great knife in his guts that she was concealing in her phone or between the leaflets?
I've never heard such utter bullshit in my life.
Are you the type who loves to bring capital punishment, but only to those who harm elites.
Define elites (Corbyn, Abbott ?) and l'll let you know . .. ...
BTW, there were actually some men helping these harpies illegally enter the premises. One had an air raid siren. One has to ask why they hid behind skirts in their attack on decent people.
Do you really think these "activists" should be allowed to do whatever they like whenever they like and not get confronted? They should be charged like the 1310 extinction rebellion layabouts.
So please moderate your language gunslinger.
Post a Comment