Green Central: an attacker writes | Duck! Politicians under attack

A female protester hurled green custard into the face of Lord Mandelson today before calmly walking away and evading arrest in an embarrassing security breach.

The Business Secretary had just emerged from his chauffeur-driven Jaguar outside a low-carbon summit in Central London when the woman approached carrying a plastic cup.

After exchanging a few words with Lord Mandelson she emptied its contents – cornflower paste and green food dye - directly over the minister.

The peer hunched over in apparent shock as a broad-shouldered aide pushed away Leila Deen, a member of an anti-aviation protest group.

As Lord Mandelson hurried inside, the protester shouted a final insult before slowly walking away from the building with another Plane Stupid demonstrator, who was clutching a second unused cup.

Lord Mandelson, a former Secretary for Northern Ireland, did not appear to have any security detail with him. The peer emerged five minutes later and shrugged off the “adolescent” protest.

“She was so busy throwing what seemed like green soup or something in my face that she failed to tell me what the protest was about but, as you can see, thankfully it wasn’t paint and I’ve come through it intact.”

Ms Deen, 29, who was dressed in a smart brown jacket and light brown trousers, said that it was disingenuous of the Business Secretary to attend the Government's low-carbon industrial strategy summit when he was in favour of the expansion of Heathrow airport.

“That Mandelson is trying to make political capital out of climate change just days after reports that he met with BAA’s top lobbyists to push through the third runway is an insult to my generation,” she said.

“We know that Mandelson is best buddies with BAA’s top lobbyist Roland Rudd, and reports suggest it was him who bullied Energy Secretary Ed Miliband into accepting a third runway. We can’t let the Prince of Darkness cast his shadow over West London.

“The only thing green about Peter Mandelson is the slime coursing through his veins.”

Lord Mandelson later treated the attack with a light touch. “Custard, was it? Not guacamole or mushy peas?” he asked, alluding to the apocryphal Westminster tale in which he once walked into a fish-and-chip shop in northern England and mistook the traditional processed pea dish for a more continental avocado dip.

As a former Northern Ireland Secretary, Lord Mandelson is entitled to heightened round-the-clock security. Other politicians who have left sensitive ministerial posts have continued to make use of the protection but the Business Secretary has chosen to relinquish it.

“I went through a long period of my life when I had 24-hour security and that’s not something I want to go back to. I’m not afraid for my security but if there are security matters they will be dealt with by security experts, not by me,” he said after the incident.

Yesterday, Sir Hugh Orde, head of the Northern Ireland Police Service, claimed that the security threat from dissident groups is at its highest for the past seven years, prompting the deployment of Army special forces to monitor the radical groups.

Gordon Brown, however, also saw an amusing side to the incident: “If anybody doubted the greening of Peter Mandelson and his willingness to take the green agenda on his shoulders we’ve seen it in practice on our television screens already this morning,” he told the conference.

Plane Stupid has launched a series of high-profile stunts in recent months against the Government’s environmental policies.

A protest at Aberdeen airport this week delayed scores of flights, while a similar protest at Stansted airport in December ended with 57 arrests and 52 flights cancelled.

There appeared to be no police officers in the vicinity of Lord Mandelson this morning despite his high profile as a member of the Cabinet.

Scotland Yard downplayed the seriousness of the attack. A spokesman said: “It’s not a murder, it’s just someone throwing a bit of paint. There is no investigation under way and no arrest. We would not take action unless we receive a complaint.”

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