"Minister assaults protestor, calls her fat"

He may as well have. Pete Hodgson assaulted Dunedin protestor Madeline Flannagan who was holding a sign saying" speed kills" at Otago University. He says he was only protecting Helen Clark, who was near her at the time. Perhaps it was because Hodgson didn’t want the placard appearing on TV. At least that is what Flannagan told Stephen Franks.

Flannagan laid a complaint of assault. Police will now be talking to Hodgson

"This hand grabbed my arms and yanked my arm down and pinned it to my side and this body is right up against me and I turned my head thinking it was some kind of student radical and I come face to face with Pete Hodgson who is eye-balling, like glaring at me, two centimetres away from my nose," said the 32-year-old mother of four.


When asked for comment on the issue he apparently recalled that Ms Flannagan was "a good sized woman". I wonder if he will apologise.