A CONSERVATIVE MP has denied reports he was assaulted by a protester outside the party conference on Sunday.
A journalist with Times Radio claimed backbencher Michael Fabricant was attacked outside the Birmingham venue after the first day of the Tory conference.
But the Litchfield MP, a Boris Johnson backer, has denied the claims and said “no one touched me”.
Just witnessed Conservative MP @Mike_Fabricant assaulted by protestors outside Tory conference. He was pushed quite violently (didn’t get this on video) and protestors screamed in his face. Really dark. pic.twitter.com/XDHvbthi87
— Dom Hauschild (@domhauschild) October 2, 2022
He called a man who shouted at him a “little twerp” and added that the experience was a “little intimidating” but insisted he was not “threatened”.
It came after reporter Dom Hauschild tweeted: “Just witnessed Conservative MP [Fabricant] assaulted by protestors outside Tory conference.
“He was pushed quite violently (didn’t get this on video) and protestors screamed in his face. Really dark.”
The post was accompanied by a video of the MP being shouted at by protesters at close quarters but which contained no evidence of him being physically assaulted.
Fabricant said on Sunday: “Social media is suggesting I was ‘attacked’ as I tried to get into [conference]. I was not.
“I was directed wrongly right into the middle of the protest. I think the protesters thought I was deliberately provoking them. But no one touched me. Just shouted abuse. They were just loud!
“One protester tried to blow a plastic horn in my ear while I was walking. I asked him to stop, but he refused. So I grabbed his horn and threw it away. I think he was more shocked than me!
He was a little twerp trying hard to be angry. I don’t recall being pushed at all. Earlier, it was a little intimidating for me and others when I had been directed straight into the middle of the demo but apart from shouting and noise from hooters, no-one touched or threatened me https://t.co/A00a6WjgHP
— Michael Fabricant 🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@Mike_Fabricant) October 3, 2022
“So for clarity, I was not pushed or shoved, nor did I fall over. As far as I could see, the crowd was noisy but self-disciplined. We live in a democracy and people have every right to protest.
“In the end, several police officers escorted me through the crowd and into the conference.”
Tweeting on Monday, the MP added: “He was a little twerp trying hard to be angry. I don’t recall being pushed at all.
“Earlier, it was a little intimidating for me and others when I had been directed straight into the middle of the demo but apart from shouting and noise from hooters, no-one touched or threatened me.”
In a statement released on Sunday, West Midlands Police said: "We are aware that a Conservative MP was confronted by protesters when walking through the city earlier today.
"Officers who were in the area at the time liaising with protesters quickly helped guide him to the conference venue due to the large number of people who had gathered.
"We are also aware of reports of an alleged assault against a second Conservative MP on Broad Street.
"The MP has since confirmed that while he was approached by protesters, he was not assaulted."
