Police arrest man over alleged MP abuse incidents outside parliament
A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of public order offences after an MP was subjected to alleged verbal abuse outside parliament last week.
The Metropolitan Police said the man was detained outside St James’s Park tube station in central London shortly before midday in connection with incidents in Westminster on Monday.
Sky News named the man as James Goddard, a prominent member of the so-called yellow vest group that has led protests outside parliament in recent days.
A spokesperson for the Met Police declined to comment on the identity of the man arrested.
Supporters of Goddard said he was about to hand himself in at Holborn police station, BBC journalist Daniel Sandford reported.
Police launched an investigation after Conservative MP Anna Soubry was subjected to ‘Nazi’ taunts during a live TV interview in Westminster.
The probe came after a group of more than 50 MPs wrote to Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick expressing “serious concerns” about the “deteriorating public order and security situation” outside parliament.
James Goddard was reportedly among protesters who chanted at Soubry during live interviews on College Green.
Facebook and PayPal removed Goddard’s online accounts shortly after the incident.