Minister Ambushed By Fathers' Group

Fri, May 05, 2006

Source: Ananova

Government minister Beverley Hughes has been ambushed and handcuffed by a fathers' rights group.

Government minister Beverley Hughes has been ambushed and handcuffed by a fathers' rights group.

Ms Hughes, Minister for Children, Young People and Families, was speaking at an education exhibition at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester.

A campaigner from Real Fathers For Justice managed to handcuff himself to her briefly, but she escaped within minutes.

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: "She managed to release herself very quickly and carried on enjoying the exhibition and speaking about the importance of high-quality early years education provision."

The police did not attend the incident, it is believed.

A man, named by fellow campaigners as Andy Tindale, 37, approached the minister wearing a Real Fathers For Justice T-shirt shortly after 10am.

Ms Hughes was handcuffed with a pair of police-style speed cuffs while walking through the exhibition.

The MP for Stretford and Urmston continued touring the Early Years Primary Teaching exhibition for several minutes while still attached to the protester before she was able to be freed.

A spokeswoman for Real Fathers for Justice said: "She was there to open the Early Years Teaching exhibition and our message to her is children need early years parenting too." She added that security around the minister was "very lax".

This is the first time Ms Hughes has been handcuffed by fathers' rights protesters. However, her predecessor in the post as Minister for Children, Margaret Hodge, was handcuffed by campaigners in November last year.

Ananova.com