The Spectator

How close have protestors got to entering parliament?

[iStock] 
issue 16 January 2021

Parliamentary objections

The US Capitol was raided by Donald Trump supporters trying to prevent the confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory. How close have protestors come to entering our own parliament?

— In May 2004, protestors calling for fathers’ access rights to their children threw a condom full of purple flour from the public gallery of the Commons, hitting the then prime minister, Tony Blair.

— Four months later, five pro-hunt protestors succeeded in entering the Commons chamber, after getting into parliament by posing as building contractors.

— In January 2008, protestors against airport expansion tried to storm parliament but got no further than hammering on St Stephen’s door.

— In June 2015, police formed a human chain to prevent disability campaigners wheeling their way into the Commons chamber.

— In April 2019, climate change protestors stripped partly naked in the public gallery of the Commons.

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