Monday, 3 May 2010

Security scare at Nick Clegg speech as Lib Dem leader is heckled by angry voter

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:36 PM on 3rd May 2010


Nick Clegg was left visibly shaken this morning after an angry heckler shouted abuse at him as he addressed a crowd on the campaign trail.

The Lib Dem leader's speech was suddenly cut short by a man in the crowd who shouted questions about 'institutional paedophile rings' and 'secret family courts.'

The man was eventually hustled away by party staff and Mr Clegg, who looked a little flustered by the interruption, was able to resume his speech.

Mr Clegg accused David Cameron of 'breathtaking arrogance' as he spoke to the crowd of around 400 people in Blackheath, south London.
Nick Clegg is heckled at a Lib Dem rally in Blackheath this morning

Nick Clegg is heckled at a Lib Dem rally in Blackheath this morning

And he warned that the Tory leader was already 'measuring up the curtains' of 10 Downing Street before the electorate had cast their votes.

'In this country you don't inherit power, you have to earn it,' he told the crowd.

Mr Clegg also unveiled a number of big name supporters, including Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe and Colin Firth, who are backing the Lib Dem's election campaign.

Urging voters to back the Lib Dems, Mr Clegg said a 'stitch-up' between the Tories and Labour was not in the interests of the country or its future prosperity.

Mr Clegg commented: 'I welcome the support of everyone who recognises this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a real difference in Britain.'

With Mr Cameron setting out clear plans for government from Friday and indicating he would attempt to lead a minority government in the event of a hung parliament, Mr Clegg went on the attack against the Conservative leader.
Clegg and his wife are surrounded by supporters as they meet voters in Blackheath
Clegg and his wife are surrounded by supporters as they meet voters in Blackheath
Clegg meets supporters as he arrives in Blackheath in the run up to the UK general election

Clegg meets supporters as he arrives in Blackheath in the run up to the UK general election

'What kind of change do the Conservatives offer?' he asked. 'Have you seen the newspapers this morning? David Cameron, with breathtaking arrogance, is already measuring up the curtains for No 10 before you have even voted.'

With Lib Dem supporters booing the prospect, he went on: 'Telling you what he's going to do with Britain, when it's not for him to tell you what to do with this country.

'It's for you to tell us, the politicians, what kind of future you want.

'I have a simple message for David Cameron: in this country you don't inherit power, you have to earn it.

'Don't let David Cameron or anyone else tell you what you've got to do. Vote with your heart. Vote with your instincts. Vote for the future you want.

'Don't let anyone tell you what to do in these vital final three days.

'We have an opportunity of a lifetime, a once-in-a-generation chance, to change Britain for good.'
Nick Clegg has a coffee with Liberal Democrat supporter Colin Firth (left) at Wallace & Co. in Putney, south London

Nick Clegg has a coffee with Liberal Democrat supporter Colin Firth (left) at Wallace & Co. in Putney, south London

The Lib Dem leader championed the cause of the Gurkhas in their campaign for greater rights.

Mr Clegg was draped with a traditional yellow Nepalese katha scarf by supporters as he walked through the crowd, accompanied by his wife Miriam Gonzalez Durantez.

At one point he exchanged a high-five with a supporter while waiting to be interviewed on TV.

Mr Clegg said there were three days left in 'this most exciting' campaign to deliver fairness for the country.

Accusing Labour of letting down the country, he said that under Gordon Brown's leadership the Government had 'destroyed civil liberties on an industrial scale' and introduced a 'grotesquely unfair' tax system.

He denounced the current political system as a 'stitch-up between two old vested interests, who are only interested in themselves and not in the welfare, and fortunes and prosperity, and future of the UK'.

Urging supporters to campaign every minute of the day, he said: 'Anything can happen. The sky's the limit.

'David Cameron may be measuring up the curtains. I know what we're doing - we're listening to the people and saying it's your country and your future.'

Other celebrity backers for the party include presenter Floella Benjamin and musician Brian Eno.

Professor Dawkins said in a statement: 'I shall vote Lib Dem mostly because scrapping the ludicrous 'first past the post' system will turn us into a proper democracy whose benefits will long outlast the next parliament...'

Colin Firth said: 'As a once-committed Labour voter I, like so many, have been appalled by the abandonment of the values they advocated while in opposition.

'For me, their conduct on asylum alone is reason enough never to be able to contemplate voting for them again.'

Armando Iannucci, writer/director of The Thick Of It and In The Loop, said: 'I'll be voting Lib Dem this election because they represent the best chance in a lifetime to make lasting and fair change to how the UK is governed.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1271054/General-Election-2010-Security-scare-Nick-CLegg-speech-Lib-Dem-leader-heckled-angry-voter.html#ixzz0mrsZI5Rl