An elected mayor had a cup of coffee poured over his head and was pushed to the ground – while attending an anarchist book fair.
Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson agreed to attend Bristol Anarchist Bookfair but was accosted by several attendees when he arrived.
After a number of “heated conversations” a cup of cold coffee was poured over him and he was pushed over – banging his head and causing his glasses to fly off.
The mayor later tweeted to his 9,700-plus followers that he had been “roughed up” at the event on Sunday but it was “all in a day’s work”.
He told BBC Radio Bristol: “I welcomed at the gate and, of course, even before I’d got in the door I was caught by loads of people wanting to argue with me about everything that I’m to blame for.
“I had some good conversations with lots of people, and generally it was a really lively, great atmosphere.
“But there were one or two people, including one who was arguing with me by the door, who when I went in said ‘I don’t think you’re welcome here’.
“Then suddenly I was having a very good conversation and I suddenly felt I was drenched.
“You know, I didn’t see anyone pouring a carton of coffee all over me. It wasn’t hot, I wasn’t at all burnt.
“Somebody tackled him and they started to try and get him out, and I said: ‘Look, let’s shake hands. I don’t think that’s very sensible’.
“And he shouted, ‘I’m not shaking hands with you’ and suddenly I found myself on the floor.”
Mr Ferguson, who stood as an Independent in November’s Boris-style mayoral election, said he was slightly bruised as a result of the attack but was unhurt.
He has no plans to report the matter to Avon and Somerset Police.
The fair’s organisers, who personally invited Mr Ferguson to the event, said they “didn’t get the wind of what happened with the mayor until after he had left”.
Your comment that The Mayor was personally invited by the organisers is a lie, organisers simple asked if he was going. The “personal invite” was made up by the BBC and even the mayor admits this by say they were “not my words”, he had clarified that he took the enquiery as an invite but was never personally invited. Please remove this lie from this article. The organisers never requested his presence.
Even so, that doesn’t excuse physical violence, whether you agree with his policies or not…