A small group of anti-austerity protestors spat on and intimidated attendees at the Conservative conference in Manchester on Sunday, with one Tory being hit on the forehead with an egg.
Journalists from Channel 4, the Huffington Post and LBC Radio were all reported on Twitter as having been spat on by protestors, with Channel 4 even filming an incident in which police had to intervene.
Corbyn team assure me that spitting at people by protestors outside Conservative conference is “disgraceful stuff” & nothing to do with him
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) October 4, 2015
One Tory who was stood on Oxford Road was hit with an egg to jeers of “Tory Scum!”, forcing him to retreat from the baying crowd.
Other protestors picketed the entrance to the conference, telling “soulless Tories” that they were not elected in Manchester and that they were “not welcome here.”
Many protestors also made a point of referencing the recent piggate scandal, in which Tory leader David Cameron was accused of performing a bizarre ritual involving a pig’s head.
Pigs against #Tories Don’t let Cameron do to unions, workers +poor what he did to a pig! #toryconference#Manchesterpic.twitter.com/ASh5gnz3Er — SWP Glasgow (@swpglasgow) October 4, 2015
Despite this police reported that most of the 60,000 protestors were well behaved, with chief superintendent John O’Hare of Greater Manchester Police telling the Guardian:
“Today around 60,000 people took part in a demonstration and I would like to thank them for their cooperation. The overwhelming majority of people have exercised their democratic right to protest with dignity and good grace. The fact that only four arrests have been made throughout the day so far was particularly pleasing.”
Image Credit – George Osborne, September 2014 by Gareth Milner
