A serial prankster arrested after handing Theresa May a P45 unemployment notice had legitimate accreditation, police said.
Comic Lee Nelson – real name Simon Brodkin – joked that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had asked him to perform the stunt during the Prime Minister’s keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference.
The prank raised security questions, with a senior Tory suggesting the perpetrator could have been a terrorist.
Guidance on the Tory conference website said all attendees must have approval from the party and are accredited by Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
GMP Chief Superintendent John O’Hare said: “Earlier today a man was detained by conference security during the Prime Minister’s speech.
“Officers attended and the man was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and was released a short time later.
Comic Simon Brodkin, also known as Lee Nelson (Peter Byrne/PA)
“The man had legitimate accreditation which granted him access to the conference site.
“In light of this we will be reviewing the accreditation process with the Conservative Party.
“Even with accreditation, everyone at the conference goes through airport-style searches before being allowed entry to the site.”
Amid frantic scenes, Nelson was bundled out of the conference hall and through the exhibition stands by security staff at the Manchester Central venue.
He told reporters: “Boris told me to do it. He’s left me in the lurch.”
Nelson was later seen being led away in handcuffs.
(Jon Vale/PA)
Around the same time, a tweet from his official Twitter account appeared, saying: “Hi @BorisJohnson, I gave Theresa her P45 just like you asked.”
The P45 he handed to the Prime Minister gave the “Reason for termination” as: “Neither strong or stable. We’re a bit worried about Jezza.”
A Downing Street source said: “We expect that there will be a thorough investigation into what happened.”
The source declined to discuss the Prime Minister’s security arrangements.
Asked how Mrs May had reacted to being approached on stage during her speech, the source said that everyone had seen her joke about it shortly afterwards.
Senior Conservative MP George Freeman, head of the Prime Minister’s policy board, said of the prankster’s interruption: “There should be some very serious questions – that could have been a terrorist.”
He added to the Press Association: “My understanding is he’s a comedian, he’s often used by the BBC, and questions will be asked about how he was allowed to get that close.”
There was another comic moment during the speech, when two letters fell off the slogan behind Mrs May.
It had read “BUILDING A COUNTRY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE” until the F in FOR and the final E in EVERYONE disappeared.
A Conservative spokesman said: “In light of the arrest during the Prime Minister’s speech we are working with the police to review the accreditation process and security arrangements for party conference.”
Security firm G4S defended its role at the conference to critics on Twitter.
A G4S spokeswoman said: “We weren’t the security provider for inside the auditorium, just the conference perimeter, entrances and exits.”