6 months ago
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The protester who ambushed Keir Starmer at the Labour Conference is an Extinction Rebellion eco-zealot who describes himself as 'a little bit of a weird one'.
Yaz Ashmawi, 28, was seen tipping glitter over Sir Keir just before he prepared to give the speech of his career to his supporters.
The black confetti looked to have alarmed the politician as Ashmawi yelled incoherently: 'We demand a people's house. We are in crisis, we are in crisis. Our whole future is in jeopardy'.
He was taken out of the conference hall to a Merseyside Police van and arrested.
JSO also shared footage of the stage-invasion linking it to their demand that Sir Keir 'commits to revoking the oil and gas licences granted by this zombie Tory government'.
Ashmawi - who has his own website - describes himself as an Extinction Rebellion strategist and has acted as their spokesman.
Laughing Ashmawi has posted a number of pictures from far-flung locations around the globe
Yaz Ashmawi, 28, was seen tipping glitter over Sir Keir just before he prepared to give the speech of his career to his supporters
The protester is also a talented photographer and posts examples of his work online on his site
He claims to be a physicist with a particular interest in the study of entropy.
Ashmawi says on his website: 'Sup, hi, hello, I'm a little bit of a weird one.
'I do a whole lot of different things.
'I work on physics a lot of the time, with particular interest in a quantity called entropy.
'I take photographs of many subjects: friends; strangers; small things; living things; places to see; spaces to pray.'
The protester is a talented photographer and posts examples of his work online.
In April 2003 he said as an XR spokesman: 'We have changed.
'We're not just blocking random junctions anymore, we're coming to the centre of power.
'We are doing actions that do result in arrests but we're targeting all those actions at the pillars in society that are most responsible and have the most power and influence to make a difference.
Keir Starmer reacts after a protester threw glitter on him at the start of his keynote address to delegates on the third day of the annual Labour Party conference
Ashmawi in Egypt, which the climate change activist would have had to fly to on gas guzzling plane
'There is a difference, we're not going for the big, public mass disruption that we have in the past.'
He is keen on the UK pursuing a Net Zero strategy and has deep concerns about climate change.
In June this year he said on Twitter: 'Only citizens' assemblies can get this done — our politicians don't have a grip on the scale of change that's needed.'
Extinction Rebellion this afternoon confirmed he was one of their activists, but said the stunt was not on behalf of them.
An XR spokesperson said: 'We agree with Yaz that true democracy is citizen-led and that our politics needs an update.
The greatest crisis we are facing is the climate and nature emergency and it is clear the political system is unable to cope with this.
This is why XR is demanding a UK-wide, independently-run citizens' assembly on the climate and nature emergencies.'
A political splinter group with links to XR and Just Stop Oil, called People Demand Democracy, claimed responsibility for the incident, saying they are a 'new group calling for an upgrade to the UK political system using civil disobedience'.
After being showered in glitter, Sir Keir was cheered as he took off his jacket and continued after the man was removed saying: 'If he thinks that bothers me he doesn't know me.'
He also joked that he was glad it hadn't happened to his wife Victoria because her dress was 'beautiful'.
The incident raises questions about the Labour leader's personal protection and security at the conference on Merseyside.
Those at the event had already criticised how search points at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool has no security arches with rudimentary bag searches instead.
