My night at the Mansion House climate protest

There we were in the gold embossed classical elegance of the Egyptian Room of Mansion House, all dressed up in black tie, politely listening to the Chancellor’s swan song – his last Mansion House speech – when the kerfuffle started at the back. Women in red dresses started pouring in from the rear doors with men in dinner jackets and bow ties trying unsuccessfully to block their path. The protestors’ shouts grew louder, and eventually drowned out the Chancellor, who sat down.

There were no police that I could see, and the light touch Mansion House security were clearly overwhelmed by the numbers. Alarmed at what was happening, and presumably fearing the Chancellor might be attacked, many guests also stood up to try and block the surging protestors from actually reaching him. What happened next was the best dressed protest I have seen: women in red ball gowns trying to push past men in black ties.