Foreign Office minister Mark Field has apologised amid calls for him to quit after he grabbed a climate change activist by the back of the neck and marched her out of a high profile dinner.
The Tory MP has referred himself for investigation by the Cabinet Office as he apologised “unreservedly” to the protester, who is a Greenpeace activist.
Mr Field was filmed stopping the activist from disrupting the annual Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House on Thursday evening by pushing her against a column before walking her out of the room as he held her by the back of the neck.
Protesters had stormed the dinner as Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered a speech on the 'state of UK politics' and how Brexit could impact the UK economy.
City of London Police said they were looking into a "small number of third party reports" related to the incident.
Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis has said the party will also investigate.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, he said: "I've spoken to the chief whip this morning and there will be an investigation from our end."
He said it was "very hard to defend" the footage, adding: "It's hard for anybody to look at that and not be astonished at what they have seen."
But he said the investigation would look into the "full details of what happened".
In a statement to ITV, Mr Field said: "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 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."
Labour MP Dawn Butler, who is shadow secretary of state for women and equalities, described footage of the incident as "horrific".
“This is horrific. Conservative Foreign Office Minister Mark Field violently grabs a woman as she protests about climate change at the bankers’ banquet,” she tweeted.
“This appears to be assault. He must be immediately suspended or sacked. Due to Violence against women.”
Welsh Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi who works on the Women and Equalities Committee called for Mr Field to be arrested.
“Mark Field should resign and be arrested. I don’t care in what order. No one who reacts like this to a peaceful protest should be sitting in our parliament,” she tweeted.
Jess Philips MP said: “She posed no credible threat from what I can see.
"There is very little else that could justify this and anyone can see that this could have been done without physical contact. Every MP has to deal with protest and conflict it is done with words. To watch this is so so awful.”
Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna called the incident “totally unacceptable”.
Former Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said: “Absolutely shameful, a male MP marching a woman out of a room by her neck.”
Others stepped in to defend Mr Field including one of his Conservative colleagues, Sir Peter Bottomley MP, who told the BBC he had done nothing wrong.
"The woman clearly was trying to create a fuss. Most viewers would say it's good that she didn't succeed," he said.
LBC presenter Iain Dale said this morning: "'Are we going to have a situation where any protester can go into any room and disrupt any event with no consequences?"
Some members of the public also defended his actions.
Andy Chapman wrote online: "Well done Mark Field! He did something other than stand by and let anything happen"
A City of London police spokeswoman said: “We have received a small number of third party reports of an assault taking place at the event. These reports are being looked into by police.”
Mr Field stepped in to eject the woman after around 40 Greenpeace demonstrators disrupted Philip Hammond’s high-profile speech to finance leaders on Thursday night.
Mr Hammond was prevented from speaking for a few minutes as the protesters were ushered out by security. They were trying to read their own speech about climate change.
The Chancellor, who was addressing the annual Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House, resumed his speech shortly afterwards.
He said: "The irony is that this is Government that has just led the world by committing to a zero carbon economy by 2050."
The comment was met with applause.
