A man has been charged with assault after allegedly spitting in a journalist’s face during protests outside the Conservative party conference.
Russell Woods, 30, of no fixed abode, was charged with section 39 assault on Monday afternoon. He was bailed to appear at Manchester and Salford magistrates court on 20 October.
The charge came after a Huffington Post journalist, Owen Bennett, said in a video posted online that he had been spat at by a protester in Manchester on Sunday.
“I’ve just been spat on by a protester, even though I’m part of the media and not part the Conservative party,” he said in the video, telling demonstrators: “Thing is guys, I work for the Huffington Post. I don’t even work for the Mail or any of those papers you normally come to.”
Greater Manchester police said: “At around 2.25pm on Sunday 4 October 2015, a 30-year-old man was standing outside the Radisson hotel on Peter Street when he was approached by another man who spat in his face.”
Following the alleged incident, the Trades Union Council (TUC) general secretary, Frances O’Grady, condemned the “unacceptable” treatment of Bennett and a Telegraph reporter who was with him at the time.
Other journalists, including the Channel 4 news reporter Michael Crick, complained of being spat at as they entered the highly fortified conference area on Sunday.
