By Ben Gelblum
The TLE have obtained footage of a delegate to the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester man-handling a woman filming the Disabled People Against the Cuts protest (DPAC) outside the conference yesterday lunchtime.
The TLE spoke today to the camera woman who was filming protests on Monday for live streaming website Independence Live.
The 54-year-old who had traveled from Scotland to film thousands take to the streets of Manchester this week to protest against the Conservative austerity programme, said:
“Yesterday afternoon. around lunchtime I was with the DPAC disabled protesters and I noticed there was a bit of a kerfuffle.
“I noticed a Tory delegate getting annoyed with a protestor so turned my iPad on and started live streaming. It was a protest against the benefit sanctions and deaths of people who had disability benefits cut or refused by Ian Duncan Smith’s Department of Work and Pensions. I could see the delegate was angry and shouting at somebody. And thats when he came over and grabbed my arm and pushed it right down. Luckily i it was on my selfie stick and I was holding it tight as he was quite forceful.”
The camerawoman who films under her monicker 45 Storm and did not want her full name published for fear of repercussions, added:
“Someone said to me ‘that was assault.’ There were about 40 police officers there, and they were escorting the delegate in, so I said: ‘I’ve just been assaulted, are you not going to say something to him?’ But they said they couldn’t do anything now and advised I visit a police station. I was a bit annoyed as I heard them tell him that I was perfectly entitled to be filming there.”
The section of the livestream in which the incident took place was uploaded online by Youtube activist Mark McGowan, also known as The Artist Taxi Driver.
The popular online social activist confirmed to TLE that he witnessed the incident as described to us by 45 Storm. He added:
“Outside Tory party conference I saw this guy lurch forward and lash out at a woman, it was quite shocking, violent. Quite sudden as well.”
So what do you think, was this incident an assault?
Do you know who the delegate is? Please contact TLE on [email protected]