Protesters penetrate security at UK House: Flour thrown at Blair
LONDON, May 19: Protesters penetrated Britain's parliament on Wednesday and threw flour-filled condoms at Prime Minister Tony Blair
, sparking fears that lax security could have let terrorists launch a biological or chemical attack.
The attackers turned out to be neither terrorists nor even opponents of Mr Blair's widely contested Iraq policy. A fathers' right campaign group said it carried out the stunt in a packed House of Commons, where most of the government was gathered.
Two men were arrested. Alarmed lawmakers brushed the purple flour off Mr Blair's left shoulder and hurried him out of the chamber, debate was suspended and an anti-terror squad was called in to test if the dust thrown from the upper gallery was noxious.
It was Britain's second security lapse this week after a man tricked his way into Queen Elizabeth's country residence of Windsor Castle on Monday by pretending to be a police official.
The protest renewed concerns about security in parliament, just weeks after a screen was erected in the public gallery following an intelligence warning that attackers could release anthrax or ricin into the chamber.
"This was a serious incident. I have asked for an immediate report on the circumstances and what additional security provisions may be necessary," said government minister Peter Hain.
The opposition Conservatives called the protest "profoundly disturbing" and said the chamber should have been sealed until the thrown substance had been identified. Some parliamentarians said Mr Blair's life could have been at risk but he was unruffled by the protest, a senior aide said. Parliament resumed after a break of about 70 minutes.
The flour bomb hit Mr Blair as he was on his feet for the prime minister's weekly questions session. Purple powder rained down on lawmakers as a number of condoms burst in mid-air.
Fathers-4-Justice, which fights for equal rights of access to children for divorced fathers, said the stunt was one of a number of protests planned ahead of Father's Day on June 20. Purple is the international colour for equality, a spokesman said.
"Tony Blair should appreciate what it would be like without children because he himself is a father," the spokesman added. The two men, dressed in suits, entered the chamber from the VIP area of the upper gallery. That section is not protected by the security screen and members of the Commons or the House of Lords upper chamber must sign in visitors.
Commons Speaker Michael Martin ordered the suspension of the rights of Lords to sign guests into the Commons. Baroness Golding, a peer from Mr Blair's Labour Party, said she had signed the men in and apologized. -Reuters
