Foreign Office Minister sprayed with fake blood
Richard Monck | 24.11.2001 02:01
Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw has been sprayed with fake blood by an anti-war protester at a meeting in his constituency.
Minister sprayed with fake blood
Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw has been sprayed with fake blood by an anti-war protester at a meeting in his constituency.
Bradshaw was said to be "shaken" but unhurt by the attack at a public meeting on the Afghan campaign in Exeter.
And he carried on with the meeting after the man was led away by police.
But an organiser said the incident raised questions about the lack of Special Branch police protection given to junior ministers at a time of war.
The South Street Baptist Church meeting had been under way for around 30 minutes when a man sitting just 15ft from the minister stood and challenged him, said organiser Ian Martin.
After shouting at Mr Bradshaw the attacker raised a squeezy bottle and doused him with fake blood, covering his face, hair, shirt and jacket.
A Baptist minister and Quaker leader sitting either side of him were also hit, said Mr Martin.
"He was a little shocked. He looked a little shocked but then carried on," said the Labour activist and Quaker.
Junior ministers are not given Special Branch protection and just two community constables were on hand, Mr Martin said.
"Why, why is someone in such an exposed position not given protection?," he asked. "There was a shocked silence and the comments made to me were: `It could have been a gun'."
Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw has been sprayed with fake blood by an anti-war protester at a meeting in his constituency.
Bradshaw was said to be "shaken" but unhurt by the attack at a public meeting on the Afghan campaign in Exeter.
And he carried on with the meeting after the man was led away by police.
But an organiser said the incident raised questions about the lack of Special Branch police protection given to junior ministers at a time of war.
The South Street Baptist Church meeting had been under way for around 30 minutes when a man sitting just 15ft from the minister stood and challenged him, said organiser Ian Martin.
After shouting at Mr Bradshaw the attacker raised a squeezy bottle and doused him with fake blood, covering his face, hair, shirt and jacket.
A Baptist minister and Quaker leader sitting either side of him were also hit, said Mr Martin.
"He was a little shocked. He looked a little shocked but then carried on," said the Labour activist and Quaker.
Junior ministers are not given Special Branch protection and just two community constables were on hand, Mr Martin said.
"Why, why is someone in such an exposed position not given protection?," he asked. "There was a shocked silence and the comments made to me were: `It could have been a gun'."
Richard Monck
e-mail:
exeterstopwar@hotmail.com
Homepage:
http://eclipse.co.uk/exeter/stopwar
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
More on the Fake Blood Attack
24.11.2001 05:40
I was sadly sitting behind the (1) person who attacked Ben Bradshaw & can say that we all were shocked, but it was only 1 person.
Who knows how many people the BBC will say attacked him later, judging by their skills at counting protesters at last weeks march in London! Maybe the 100,000 who were not in London last week were responsible!!!!
Richard Monck
Homepage:
http://eclipse.co.uk/exeter/stopwar
Warmonger Bradshaw !
25.11.2001 10:06
Britain, but to bolster up dubious despotic stooges of the USA. Why he,and all those,such as Blair,Cook,Robertson, Straw,Hoon and and the others who continuously offer the lives of our young service personnel up for sacrifice, when they are all young enough - some with sons old enough- to do their killing and dying themselves in their dirty wars.
We have soldiers in Ireland,Kenya,Belize,the Falklands,
Sierra Leone,the Balkans,Germany,the Middle East and in other places further afield. The people of this country should now know the reason why we are at the bottom of the league in Europe for Health,Education, Transport, use of Drugs, Crime and the Social Fabric. No wonder, France , Germany, Italy, Spain and all the rest of the EEC,laugh up their sleeves at this country. Blair's New Labour spend most of the wealth of this country on killing utensils.The rest of Europe spend most of theirs on providing better social services for their people. DISILLUSIONED
Hoggie
More on the War Monger Bradshaw
01.12.2001 12:23
The UK Foreign Office minister Ben Bradshaw will answer your questions this Sunday at 1400GMT on Talking Point, the phone-in programme of the BBC World Service and BBC News Online.
The British government has been a staunch ally of the US in the military operation in Afghanistan.
The role of British forces has come under scrutiny this week after they played a key role in ending a revolt by Taleban prisoners near the town of Mazar-e-Sharif.
Nearly 600 Taleban fighters were killed in the uprising. The British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, has rejected calls from human rights groups for an inquiry into the killings.
Meanwhile talks in Bonn are striving to reach agreement on the political future of Afghanistan.
Can any agreement reached in Bonn be implemented on the ground? Will British troops be part of a future peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan? Why has the British government rejected an inquiry into the killings at Mazar-e-Sharif?
Send your questions for Ben Bradshaw using the form(See site) and include your phone number if you want to put your question directly to him. Or call 44 20 7379 7444 from 1200 GMT on Sunday.
Richard Monck
e-mail:
exeterstopwar@hotmail.com
Homepage:
http://www.eclipse.co.uk/exeter/stopwar