Mark Field: Greenpeace activist grabbed by Tory MP says he should seek anger management help

The Greenpeace protester grabbed by suspended foreign office minister Mark Field has said he should consider attending anger management classes.

Janet Barker, who was manhandled after interrupting a black-tie City dinner, said she did not intend to complain to the police – but did suggest the Conservative MP may need professional help controlling his temper.

The 40-year-old told the BBC: "He certainly manhandled me in a way in which was very disagreeable… I want him to reflect on what he did and not do it again. Maybe he should go to anger management classes."

Asked if she believed Mr Field's actions amounted to criminal assault, Ms Barker replied: "No, I don't think so. I don't want this to turn into a mud-slinging match."

But she said: “I hope he doesn’t do it again because there was some serious anger there.”

The incident occurred on Thursday evening after several environmental protestors disrupted the annual Mansion House dinner for top city executives and industry figures in the City of London.

The demonstrators – wearing red dresses with "climate emergency" sashays – entered the room as chancellor Philip Hammond was beginning to address guests on the state of the economy.

Video footage showed Ms Barker, from Builth Wells, Powys, walking past Mr Field’s table when he stands up, pushes her against a column and then forces her out of the room by the neck.

She said: “I remember a chair being pushed out. Then being shoved. I was saying, over and over: ‘This is a peaceful protest, a peaceful protest'. I was saying it quite audibly, certainly loud enough.

“I thought if I just keep saying ‘peaceful protest’ you hope to defuse the situation. But there was no diffusion in his anger.

“He continued to grip me by the neck and the arm all the way to the door of the building. Then, when we got to the door, he shoved me outside on to the street, and said: ‘This is what happens when people like you disturb our dinner’.”

Mr Field himself later issued a statement saying he “reacted instinctively” to a clear security breach.

He added: “I was, for a split second, genuinely worried she might have been armed…

“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.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman said Prime Minister Theresa May had "seen the footage" and "found it very concerning".

She added that Mr Field had "referred himself to both the Cabinet Office and the Conservative Party."

He will remain suspended while an investigation takes place.

Police said they were looking into "a number of third-party reports of a possible assault".

As for Ms Barker, a campaigner of more than two decades, she said the episode would not stop her continuing to raise awareness about climate change.

“For me the concern is the environment,” she said. “It’s what I’ve lived for. I’ve done it for 22 years and I’ll continue to do.”