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David Cameron 'shoved' in Leeds: I was just a jogger, says Dean Farley, as police launch security review

Mr Farley said that he 'brushed into' the Prime Minster

Adam Withnall
Monday 27 October 2014 15:09 GMT
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Was David Cameron 'confronted' by man in Leeds?
Was David Cameron 'confronted' by man in Leeds? (Steve Gardner | ITV News)

The Prime Minister’s security arrangements are under review after a man ran up to David Cameron and appeared to shove him outside Leeds Civic Hall.

The Metropolitan Police Service and West Yorkshire Police will now look into the incident which occurred as the Prime Minister left a press conference.

Appearing unaffected by the clash, the Prime Minister said: "Could I put on the record for once the debt I owe to the close protection teams that look after me and the very good job that they do.

"John Prescott was in the room as I gave the speech so as I left the room, I thought the moment of maximum danger had probably passed. But clearly that wasn't the case," Mr Cameron quipped in reference to the Labour politician.

Dean Farley, who closely resembles the man seen on video running into Mr Cameron's team, used his Facebook page to claim that he was the jogger.

Mr Farley wrote: "So I'm all over the news as 'the protester that attacked David Cameron in Leeds'. Yeah if you call brushing into someone while running then getting assaulted by half a dozen coppers in suits attacking."

Video footage shows a man slalom past staff and collide with the Prime Minister as he left Leeds Civic Hall, before being wrestled away by security officials.

The jogger was wearing a T-shirt, headphones, running trainers and tracksuit bottoms and carrying a towel.

West Yorkshire police, which covers the Leeds area, said there was “nothing sinister” about the incident and that it was “just a man in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

The man was arrested and, after no more than five minutes of questioning, de-arrested and allowed on his way.

However, the incident has raised questions over the security around Mr Cameron.

Tory MP Mark Pritchard called for an immediate inquiry: "Met Police close protection officers are some of the best in the world, but what if the protester had been carrying a knife?"

"With the terror threat level increased, this cannot be allowed to happen again. The Met Commissioner should call an immediate and swift internal inquiry to discover why this happened and implement the necessary lessons learned as quickly as possible."

Witness Chris Wilson said: "It looked like Cameron sidestepped him. It was a lovely little move. He should be on the stage, really.

Scroll down for video of the incident
Video footage showed the man running along the pavement towards the Prime Minister's group (Steve Gardner | ITV News)
He dodges to the left of the first security guard - putting him on a path straight towards the PM (Steve Gardner | ITV News)
What looks in the video like some sort of bundle later emerged to be a grey towel (Steve Gardner | ITV News)
The PM was unharmed and appeared a little embarrassed - and after around 5 minutes the man was de-arrested and allowed on his way (Steve Gardner | ITV News)

"And then he was tackled by the person behind. And then he (Cameron) was in the car and the car was gone.

"They were on him. They were like flies round poo. One minute he was down, then he was up again and moving. It was fast."

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "A 28-year-old local man was briefly arrested after he came close to the PM's group, who had just left the Civic Hall.

"No threats were made, and after the man's details were checked, he was de-arrested and allowed on his way."

Mr Cameron had been visiting the city to promote the government’s plans to provide better links to the north of England, dubbed “HS3”, and speculation mounted that the mysterious man may have been a disgruntled protester.

But while the incident appeared innocuous enough, questions will be raised as to how a sprinting member of the public was able to get so close to the Prime Minister.

See below for video footage captured from further down the road.

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