Boris Johnson drops probe into MP who grabbed female protester by neck and pinned her against wall

Boris Johnson ‘considers this issue was a matter for the previous PM’, says No 10

Boris Johnson’s government has dropped an investigation into a Tory minister who grabbed a female protester by the neck and pushed her against a pillar at a black tie dinner.

Mark Field was suspended from his job at the foreign office while a Whitehall investigation was carried out into the incident in the City of London, when he physically removed Greenpeace activist Janet Barker from the room.

Video footage of the event showed Mr Field pushing the protester against a pillar and then marching her outside, after several activists tried to disrupt Philip Hammond’s Mansion House speech.

The Cities of London and Westminster MP was not invited back into the government when Mr Johnson became prime minister, and the probe into his conduct has now been dropped.

A No 10 spokesperson said: “Mark Field has now left the government.

“The current PM considers this issue was a matter for the previous PM concerning his conduct during his time as a minister under her appointment.”

At the time, Mr Field said he was acting “instinctively” as he was afraid the protesters might be armed, but apologised for his actions and referred himself for investigation.

He said in a statement: “In the confusion many guests understandably felt threatened and when one protester rushed past me towards the top table I instinctively reacted.

“There was no security present and I was for a split second 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.”

Ms Barker said she had been left “shaken up” by the incident, adding: “I was armed with peer-reviewed science – the message that we were giving out. That’s all I was armed with.”

Labour condemned the decision and called for Mr Field to be expelled from the Conservative Party.

Louise Haigh, shadow policing minister, said: “Never mind not being fit for a job in government, Mark Field isn’t fit to be an MP.

“It’s not good enough for the prime minister to say that he considers the matter settled.

“Having previously failed to condemn his actions, this is a test of Boris Johnson’s attitude towards women. He should kick him out of the Conservative Party immediately.”

A Conservative spokesperson said: “We note the outcome of the police investigation. We are reviewing this matter in line with our procedures.”