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Five arrested after former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith allegedly ‘hit with traffic cone’ in Manchester
Greater Manchester Police said that officers were on the scene of the alleged attack "within minutes".
Five people have been arrested after Sir Iain Duncan Smith was allegedly hit on the head with a traffic cone during the Conservative party conference in the city centre yesterday afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police said that officers were on the scene “within minutes” following reports that the former Tory party leader was pursued and attacked while walking on Portland Street to a fringe event at around 4pm on Monday.
The force confirmed that three men and two women had subsequently been arrested.
It’s believed that Sir Iain Duncan Smith was making his way to deliver a talk with the Brexit minister, David Frost, when a group of people recognised him and proceeded to call him “Tory scum” and tried to hit him with a traffic cone.
A video posted to Twitter – which is said to have been be filmed after the cone incident – shows Duncan Smith being followed down the street as someone shouts “Tory scum” to the banging of a drum.
Recounting the events as they happened, Sir Iain told the BBC: “They then decided to follow me and started shouting abuse, such as ‘Tory scum’ and any other reason they could think of.
“I carried on walking and when I was getting close to the place [where I had a meeting] someone came up with one of those rather heavy traffic cones and tried to smack me with it in the back of the head.”
Sir Iain said he managed to get hold of the cone, and the group then moved away for a moment, but added that “they carried on with the expletives.”
GMP confirmed in a statement that the incident did occur, explaining: “Following a short foot pursuit, three men and two women have been arrested in connection with it, and remain in custody for questioning [with] enquiries ongoing.”
“I am big enough and old enough to know when something like this happens, you just carry on,” Sir Iain concluded.
The incident comes after thousands of protesters marched through Manchester on the first day of the Conservative Party conference on Sunday.
Protesters were calling for various reforms – including to social care and policing.
Featured Image – Twitter
News
Tameside police officers hailed ‘absolute heroes’ after saving the life of a seven-year-old girl
Emily Sergeant
Two Tameside police officers have been hailed as “absolute heroes” after saving the life of a seven-year-old little girl.
It comes after emergency services were called to an address in the Greater Manchester borough of Tameside earlier this week (29 November), and found a young girl who was struggling to breath and coughing up blood after choking on a sweet.
Police Constables Aaron Kincaid and James Blundell, from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Tameside division, were first on the scene.
To the huge relief of the girl’s parents, who were said to be “understandably distressed” and concerned for her welfare, PC Kincaid jumped straight into action and was able to utilise his first aid training to full effect by going on to successfully dislodge the sweet from the youngster’s throat, and then helping to calm her down before the paramedics arrived.
Whilst PC Kincaid looked after the little girl, PC Blundell did “everything he could” to help the parents remain calm.
Paramedics then took over once they arrived, and the young girl was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Reflecting on the incident, and hailing his officers “absolute heroes”, Superintendent Mike Walsh, from GMP’s Tameside district, said: “PCs Aaron Kincaid and James Blundell acted without hesitation during the incident, and took control of the situation that they were faced with.
“They deserve every credit for staying calm under extreme pressure and for working together as a team and utilising their training to lifesaving effect, and I’m sure the girl’s parents and family will consider them to be absolute heroes.”
“We’re both glad that we were in the right place at the right time,” PC Kincaid added.
“I have a daughter the same age as the little girl who needed our help, and I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was when she started breathing normally and said she was okay after I had managed to dislodge the sweet.
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“I remember saying, ‘Thank God for that’.
“The little girl gave me a thank you hug before she went to hospital, but I couldn’t have done what I did without PC Blundell’s assistance, so it was a real team effort.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Someone has plastered posters advertising ‘authorised drug zones’ all over Manchester city centre
Daisy Jackson
Posters promoting ‘authorised’ drug use and sales have appeared all over Manchester today.
The posters even include Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council logos – though, obviously, without the consent of either authority.
The fake posters have also been springing up in other cities, with locals in Leeds spotting them all over the place yesterday.
They read: “Crack and heroin zone. The sale and use of Crack and Heroin is authorised in this area.”
The fake posters have been spotted outside the Central Library and in the Northern Quarter, as well as at locations in other parts of the city.
They were quickly removed by authorities, who say they were posted illegally.
West Yorkshire Police said yesterday: “We are aware of fake posters that have been illegally posted at locations in and around Leeds city centre and are making further enquiries.”
Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council have also been approached for comment.
Manchester mayoral candidate Nick Buckey wrote on X: “The lack of action to the drug epidemic in Greater Manchester is so huge that people thought these posters were legitimate.
“When jokes seems like reality then we know we have a problem.”
It appears that the group behind the drug posters project is Pattern Up, a ‘young artist collective from Brighton making their mark on the streets with provocative and witty installations’.
Plenty of people seem to have fallen for the stunt, believing it’s real, with one person posting on Instagram: “Can’t find anything online so surely fake news unless someone has a source.”
Another wrote: “Hahaha f*ck off this can’t be legit.”
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Featured image: User submission
The Manc -
5th October 2021 
