Green Party MP Hannah Spencer was given a police escort from Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester after clashes broke out at an anti-far right event on Sunday afternoon. The newly elected MP for Gorton and Denton was taken to a waiting police car following several scuffles at the Greater Manchester Together Alliance demonstration.
Footage from the incident shows that as Ms Spencer walked away after her speech, she was questioned by a YouTuber wearing a sandwich board reading 'Trans women are men', who repeatedly asked 'Are trans women women?' and 'Can a woman have a penis?'. Moments later, two men began arguing and punches were thrown before a police officer intervened. Another altercation then broke out between a man and a woman, as several others stepped in.
More punches were thrown as a fracas erupted between people in hi-viz vests and others, with police attempting to separate the two sides. Ms Spencer was then escorted to a waiting police car outside Burger King and driven away from the scene.
Earlier, Ms Spencer had told the Together Alliance: 'It's about a movement of people coming together, finding common ground, getting together, working together, mobilizing and defeating politics of hatred and division. And last week we did exactly that. We showed Greater Manchester at its finest and we kicked out people who are here to stir hatred.'
A Green Party spokesperson condemned the incident, stating: 'Hannah was talking today in Manchester about community cohesion and unity. A few angry men, attempting to spread anti-trans bigotry, chose this moment to try to silence and harass Hannah. There is a bitter irony that today, on International Women's Day, these few men claiming to 'protect women' behaved like this towards parliament's newest female MP, chasing her to a police car.'
Ms Spencer was elected as the Green Party's first MP in the north of England after her victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election on February 27.
