After footage emerged of Conservative politician Mark Field restraining the campaigner, St Ouen Constable Richard Buchanan liked a message from podcaster and radio host Jon Gaunt, who said the MP’s behaviour amounted to a ‘natural reaction’ in ‘these toxic times’.
Mr Gaunt’s tweet read: ‘He didn’t punch her, he just restrained her. She stormed the meeting, she was in the wrong! It was a natural reaction from him in these toxic times! Do you agree?’
UK Prime Minister Theresa May suspended the Tory MP from his role as a Foreign Office minister following the incident that she described as ‘very concerning’.
Mr Buchanan said he ‘liked’ the tweet because he felt there were ‘two sides to every story’.
‘He [Mr Field] did not know if she was carrying a knife or what her intentions were. If she was carrying a knife he would have been called a hero. It was his initial reaction to a possible threat,’ Mr Buchanan said.
His support of the tweet has caused some backlash on social media.
Greenpeace protesters disrupted the black-tie event in London last week, where Chancellor Philip Hammond was speaking, to demand action to tackle the climate emergency.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: ‘The Prime Minister has seen the footage and she found it very concerning.
‘The police have said they are looking into reports over this matter and Mark Field has also referred himself to both the Cabinet Office and the Conservative Party.’
The City of London police are investigating the incident.
