GOVERNMENT minister Phil Woolas had a custard pie slammed in his face at Manchester University in a protest against his stance on immigration.
Mr Woolas, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, was speaking at a debate on environmental issues when a female member of the crowd raced onto the stage and pushed the pie in his face.
The Immigration Minister looked stunned and was taken away and cleaned up - but he returned a short time later to take part in the debate.
Mr Woolas hit the headlines this week after a number of controversial remarks in his new role.
He appeared to call for a limit on immigration to keep Britain’s population under 70 million and criticised the failure to fund asylum removals properly, saying it had caused ‘untold misery and division’.
Members of Manchester’s No Borders group claimed responsibility for the attack. A woman rushed up and threw what a spokesman described as a 'creamy vegan' pie at Mr Woolas from a distance of 1m and scored a direct hit in his face.
The group believes in free transport regardless of borders and say their actions were a response to the Minister’s recent comments.
The group claim Mr Woolas is promoting an ‘increasingly draconian and reactionary approach to immigration issues’.
Mr Woolas was unavailable for comment.
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Jay B, oldham (24/10/2008 at 17:16)
This country cannot take much more immegration.
both physically and mentally!
The hate thats brewing up against immegrants will only further the growth of the BNP.
if we sort it now then we will be better off!
Voice of Sanity (24/10/2008 at 17:19)
ron f (24/10/2008 at 17:43)
midway, West Germany (24/10/2008 at 17:49)
Blues brudders,, Manchester (24/10/2008 at 17:56)
Blues brudders,, Manchester (24/10/2008 at 18:38)
Ed Balls be warned you could be next.
Mark,Radcliffe. (24/10/2008 at 18:53)
neil sk6 (24/10/2008 at 19:45)
David of Ashton, Ashton (24/10/2008 at 19:48)
annea, crumpsall (24/10/2008 at 19:59)
Northamptonblue, Northampton (24/10/2008 at 20:14)
gayle o'donovan (24/10/2008 at 20:23)
Mr Woolas' recent comments and his intentions towards our immigration policy are irresponsible and not inkeeping with the traditions and values of our open and inclusive island nation. In response to other comments to this story, to say that we must curb immigration to halt the rise of racist pro-BNP sentiment in this country is preposterous, like banning meat to discourage vegetarianism. What definitely will encourage the BNP is the validation of its ideals by mainstream politians.
To make a stand for our collective values is well worth the sacrifice of a good pie.
Dan, Manchester
-Soothsayer+ (24/10/2008 at 20:30)
Equality!
Esso Blues brudder,, Manchester (24/10/2008 at 20:42)
Damian O'Brien (24/10/2008 at 21:01)
sweary mary, Old Manchester Town. (24/10/2008 at 21:08)
Finally Britain has a potential gold medal winner in the custard throwing competition.
Or has Mrs Blobby returned.
Ace Shakespeare , manchester (24/10/2008 at 21:52)
A Bus Driver (24/10/2008 at 22:47)
S P In exile, Tameside (24/10/2008 at 23:53)
Who is the Manchester no Borders group I'm a Mancunian and there not doing it in my name.
Hamish Macbeth, Whitefield (25/10/2008 at 01:24)
The group believes in free transport regardless of borders ... great - not with my hard earned taxes you don't.
The logic is - we live on a small island and cannot cope with great influxes of people.
Dennis the Menace, Hyde (25/10/2008 at 01:52)
I applaud him for having the courage to speak out and say what a lot of the population think !!!
I wonder ... did they catch the offender ????, its a pity the woman has not got better things to do !!!, or is she an illegal immigrant ????? Hmmmmmmm, I wonder .....
Mike,Vyvian,Neil and Ric., Manchester (25/10/2008 at 01:53)
Dan the student...whatever..
24/10/2008 at 20:23
I hope you're being ironic,though sadly my better judgment says you're not.
You're making the irritating and ill-informed 6th form/Uni debating mistake of accusing anyone who dares to breach the subject of border control and unchecked immigration as either "racist," "Xenophobic" or a BNP member.
GROW UP,SON.
So Dan the student-just what do you deem an "acceptable" population level,and how shall we "vet" those who wish to come here to live?
Or shall we just,as you infer-allow everyone into our tiny,overcrowded island,regardless of whether they wish to contribute anything positive to our society or not?
And when you eventually get that 2:2 in Sociology and Media Studies,Try taking your newly-found skills into the US,Australia or Canada without first proving you are either financially independent,have made provision for yourself and your family or are at immediate risk of political persecution.
I have news my "learned" yet naive friend-YOU WON'T BE ALLOWED.
So Dan-open your "custard pies",try living in the REAL WORLD instead of propping up the bar at Uni, and see that just because the government has woken up to the problem of uncontrolled mass- immigration about 8 years too late-it doesn't make everyone who raises a genuine concern or a viewpoint that differs from yours a raving fascist.
PW, Manchester (25/10/2008 at 09:16)
come.on.city (25/10/2008 at 11:43)
Yeah 'cause we all know suicide bombers strap custard pies to themselves!
I say it should be made customary to throw custard pies at all politicians!
Dan111, Manchester (25/10/2008 at 13:42)
I am once again disappointed that anyone expressing a liberal opinion is assumed to be a student. I am not. I have been a fully paid and taxed-up member of society for some time now and, like the rest of us, am facing a life living in an aging population, taxes rising painfully to pay for the associated rising costs of healthcare and pension payments.
Analysis has shown that recent immigrants conribute £2.5 billion more in taxes than they take in benefits, they fill skill shortages in crucial sectors of our economy and the treasury estimates than immigration increases our ecomonic growth rate by a quarter of a percentage point.
However, these points are peripheral to my argument. I am well aware of immigration controls placed by other countries (and our own) and I am disagree with these measures as much as I disagree with those proposed by Mr Woolas. Immigration controls value a native of any land higher than a foreigner and are therefore intrinsically xenophobic. If we truly assigned the right to live in this country based solely on the value people add we would see mass deportation of thick and lazy British people.
So, for me, the argument is a moral one. For others it may be an economic one, and the arguments in this area are more complicated than the points I have outlined above and outside the scope of an MEN comments page.
I find the prospect of tighter immigration controls repulsive, both for what they are and for the validation they give to the opinions of certain parts of our society.
We should not be protectionist, we should not be nationalist, we should be free.