A Tory MP used his finger to ‘peck’ at the shoulder of a young woman in a party conference bust-up that ‘left staff in tears’.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown is said to have repeatedly tapped his finger on the woman’s shoulder, leaving her ‘threatened’ and ‘scared’.
The incident took place two years ago at a Tory party conference and is believed to have started when staff refused to let the senior MP’s fiancee into a restricted area.
It resulted in the Cotswolds MP being kicked-out of the event in October 2019 – overshadowing Boris Johnson in his first party conference as PM.
But now eye-witness reports from the event have been published by the Mirror.
The reports, from internal Tory party documents, are said to contain accounts from witnesses who were left ‘scared’ by the incident.
One woman, named as ‘Woman A’ to protect her identity, claimed Sir Geoffrey began to ‘peck’ at her shoulder with his finger during the row.
Members of the press gather around the International Lounge area after it was closed down following the incident at the Tory Party conference in 2019
Police attend the Conservative Party Conference in October 2019 after the incident involving Sir Geoffrey
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (pictured) is said to have repeatedly tapped his finger on the woman’s shoulder, leaving her ‘threatened’ and ‘scared’
She said the incident happened as Sir Geoffrey, 68, went to meet Sri Lankan delegates in a restricted area of the conference.
But she said the MP became angry when his fiancee, who did not have the relevant security pass, was denied entry.
According to her eye-witness account, seen by the Mirror she said: ‘He walked right up to me and started shouting at my face.
‘He was shouting saying, “She needs to come in! This is ridiculous! She is my fiance!’
She continued: ‘He started pecking my right shoulder really hard with his fingers.
‘I thought he was going to hit me. I remember saying, ‘”Please don’t hit me. Don’t lay your hands on me!
‘I was scared and I was shaking.’
According to the Mirror, another woman said Sir Geoffrey became ‘very agitated’ and ‘started shouting’.
Police at the International Lounge after the incident involving Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Police attend the Conservative Party Conference following the incident in October 2019
She said she saw that the other woman, Woman A, was ‘clearly shaken and she was crying’, while another woman, ‘Woman C’, said Sir Geoffrey was ‘very angry’ and ‘pacing around’.
Security were later summoned and the MP was removed from the event.
According to the Mirror, a phone call was later organised for him to apologise to Woman A.
But it is said to have ‘made things worse’ because he was ‘not very apologetic’.
Last night MailOnline contacted Sir Geoffrey for a comment. He told the Mirror that ‘a lot of what was in the witness statements was not true’.
Following the 2019 incident, the Mail reported how police were called to the venue to the conference, in Manchester, to reports an ‘attendee’ attempted to enter an exclusive area without ‘a relevant pass’.
It was reported at the time that Sir Geoffrey had ‘remonstrated with the member of staff’, at which point security personnel intervened.
The Conservative Party later released a statement saying the incident was ‘totally unacceptable’ and sir Geoffrey had been ‘asked to leave.’
It said the MP had tried to enter a room with a guest who did not have the correct security clearance.
The row led to a lockdown of areas of the conference, including the press room, at the Manchester Central Convention Complex for around 20 minutes.
Speaking at the time Sir Geoffrey said: ‘I’ve got nothing further to say about it. I don’t want to comment on it, really.’