Tuesday, July 30, 2019
PM Johnson sets the tone on violence against women
It didn't take long for Boris Johnson to make his mark on government, even if that is entirely negative and reactionary. The Independent tells us that the Prime Minister's new Brexit chief wants to scrap Theresa May’s commitment to protect British workers’ rights, and has suggested Brexit is an opportunity to escape the EU’s “heavy labour market regulation”. And then there is the attitude towards women.
As others have pointed out, the man now installed in Number Ten Downing Street,who had police called to his London flat following a loud row with his girlfriend, has now decided to drop the investigation into a Tory minister who grabbed a female protester by the neck and pushed her against a pillar at a black tie dinner. It really is not a good look for his government.
The Independent recalls that 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 while grabbing her by the neck, after several activists tried to disrupt Philip Hammond’s Mansion House speech.
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.
Whatever the Prime Minister's reasons, the message his decision sends on the government's attitude towards violence against women is appalling.
As others have pointed out, the man now installed in Number Ten Downing Street,who had police called to his London flat following a loud row with his girlfriend, has now decided to drop the investigation into a Tory minister who grabbed a female protester by the neck and pushed her against a pillar at a black tie dinner. It really is not a good look for his government.
The Independent recalls that 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 while grabbing her by the neck, after several activists tried to disrupt Philip Hammond’s Mansion House speech.
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.
Whatever the Prime Minister's reasons, the message his decision sends on the government's attitude towards violence against women is appalling.
