Who is the Tory MP who 'grabbed female protester by the neck'?

Foreign Office Minister Mark Field may not be one of the biggest names in politics, but has held a number of ministerial roles since becoming an MP in 2001.

The MP for Cities of London and Westminster is in the spotlight after manhandling a climate change activist out of a dinner in the City of London.

Mr Field has apologised ‘unreservedly’ to the activist after video footage showed him stopping her at the black-tie dinner at Mansion House by pushing her against a column at Mansion House before holding her by the back of the neck and forcefully walking her out of the room.

An Oxford-educated solicitor

Born in Germany in October 1964, Mr Field was educated at Reading School and later completed a degree in law at Oxford.

The 54-year-old practised as a solicitor before his political career began and was an elected councillor in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

He joined the Conservative frontbench two years after first winning a seat in the Commons, taking on the role of Opposition Whip.

Later the same year, he was appointed shadow minister for London, and roles as shadow financial secretary to the Treasury and shadow minister for culture and the arts swiftly followed.

In September 2010, he became the youngest MP on the Intelligence and Security Committee and he was later made a Privy Counsellor in recognition of his work on the committee.

After the 2017 election he took on one of his most prominent positions to date, as minister of state for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign Office.

He has also served as vice chairman (International) of the Conservative Party.

A ‘hardline right winger’

Mr Field was described by The Guardian as one of the most 'hardline right wingers' up for election in 2001.

The observation related to comments he made in 1991 about charities fighting the Aids epidemic.

According to the Guardian, he wrote in Crossbow in 1991: "... Many charitable trusts set up to help counter Aids in the mid-1980s became little more than a gay rights front”.

Later, after he campaigned for Mr Portillo to get his Kensington seat, he reportedly said that whether people are or were gay was a "non-issue" for members of the Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Association.

Urged police to ‘take a much firmer grip’ on climate change demonstrations

In April, Mr Field sent a letter to Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick urging police to "take a much firmer grip" on climate change demonstrations.

In the letter, the MP complained that constituents were "quite rightly fed up" with the travel disruption caused by Extinction Rebellion protests, claiming businesses in the West End were estimated to have lost "tens of millions of pounds" as a result of the protests.

He wrote: "I, of course, respect the right to peaceful protest as a key part of our democratic tradition, and as a Foreign Office Minister whose portfolio covers climate change, know better than most the pressing need to address this most serious of issues.

"Nevertheless, I am sure you will agree that what we have seen over the past few days goes well beyond a good-natured exercise in free speech and that the detrimental effect these protests are having on ordinary citizens and local business is much too great for the protesters, however well intention(ed), to be allowed to carry on in such a flagrant way."

He concluded that "I should be most grateful if, as a matter of urgency, you would take a much firmer grip on this problem and for the law to be applied to its full extent against those who, despite fair warning, insist on protesting in this anti-social way."

A fan of looser rules on expenses

According to the Guardian in 2001, Mr Field was a supporter of looser rules on MPs' outside earnings, saying: "If you're earning several hundred thousand a year in the City, are you going to give it up for £47,000 a year in the Commons?"

According to the Ham & High newspaper, in 2015 Mr Field claimed six per cent less than the capital-wide average from 2010 to 2015.

His claims included £90 each year for an annual subscription to The Week magazine and in 2014-15 £126 for a subscription to The Economist to keep up to date with current affairs.

In 2014-15 he claimed £864.12 for a Dell office computer, in 2012-13 £499 for an iPad for office use, in 2011-12 £379.97 for a Toshiba computer for travel use, and in 2010-11 £1,077.36 for a Dell laptop for home use.

He is quoted as saying: “I was one of the most vocal critics of the old expenses regime, speaking out against my own colleagues at the time and continuing to campaign for transparency into the next parliament.

“We now have a system where constituents are able to look up an MP’s expense claims and make their own mind up.”

He would revoke Article 50

In March, Mr Field said he would support revoking Article 50 and stopping the Brexit process if Theresa May’s deal was rejected once again in the Commons.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: “To be honest, my personal view is that I would be happy to revoke Article 50.

“I appreciate that is probably a minority view, but if we get to this utter paralysis – and I sincerely hope that in the next 48, 72 hours we do not – then if that becomes an option, it’s an option that I would personally take.

“I accept it would probably not be a majority view in the House of Commons,” he said, adding: “I think we are in such uncharted waters. As I say, I have voted every time for the Withdrawal Agreement, I sincerely hope that Parliament and some of my Parliamentary colleagues will see sense and will make sure we get that through.”

Outspoken

In his role as Foreign Office Minister, Mr Field has spoken out on issues from Britain's interventions in Iraq and Libya, the collapse of an international nuclear treaty and the plight of the Muslim Rohingya in Burma.

Most recently, he spoke in the Commons about Hong Kong's controversial extradition bill, warning that it could have a "chilling effect" on rights and freedoms.

A lifelong sports fan

Mr Field lives in Westminster with his wife Vicki, son Frederick, born in 2007, and daughter Arabella, born in 2011.

His website lists his interests as urban walking, pop music and researching local London history, and he is also said to be a lifelong sports fan.