A BREXIT Party campaigner has been shoved to the floor by a Morrisons security guard after claims the MP hopeful was forcing leaflets onto shoppers.
Julian Newton, who is the Brexit Party candidate for Stalybridge and Hyde, Greater Manchester, claims he was trying to enter the supermarket to buy a cup of tea on Sunday but was stopped by the ‘bully’ Morrisons worker.
The MP-hopeful was refused entry by a security guard who appears to continuously shove him and causes him to fall to the floor.
A Morrisons spokesperson said customers had complained Julian was “forcing leaflets” on them, which the supermarket giant says is banned in their shops.
Julian, 52, said: “I was assaulted by the bouncer. I was thrown to the floor by the security guard.
“I had to go into hospital on Tuesday because I had a bad night’s sleep and needed some strong painkillers. I needed something to get me over the pain to do the work I was doing.
I want an apology and for them to put me in touch with a chiropractor.
“[The pain] was the result of an assault because I fell on my backside.
“I was wearing a Brexit button on my suit. It was definitely motivated by that. He knew [who I was].
“You don’t stop someone from going into a store for wearing a badge. He said, ‘you cannot be on this private land doing what you’re doing’.
“It was just barmy. At the end of the day, if I’m a politician, I need to know not just how it is for people at the top of society, what their problems are.
“But we need to be talking to people at the bottom who have reached rock bottom for their views.
“There’s nothing negative with what I did. I didn’t react in a violent way. He was swearing his head off. This is supposed to be a professional organisation.
“I was surprised by it until the guy I was speaking to on the bench said ‘if you had been a Labour Party guy, this wouldn’t have happened’. It all became clear then.
“I’d never encountered this security guard before. I’ve had a row with Morrisons about what they are doing about this situation.
“I want an apology and for them to put me in touch with a chiropractor.”
Video footage recorded by shopper John Harrison, 32, shows Julian wearing a Brexit Party badge and coming head to head with the security guard, who is employed by a third party security company.
During the confrontation Julian pointed at the security guard and told bystanders: “This is a bully.”
Fellow Brexit Party candidate Michelle Dewberry slammed the incident as an “absolute disgrace”.
Writing on Twitter, she said: “Absolute disgrace @Morrisons Campaigning all day is tiring.
“Everyone is entitled to a rest…How dare you assault/ban him in this way? I’m a @brexitparty_uk candidate.
“Am I to assume my team & I are also not welcome in your stores? What about Brexit backing customers?”
John, who witnessed the fight, claims Julian had been giving out leaflets outside the shop before he was asked to leave.
John, from Denton in Greater Manchester, said: “It escalated quite quickly and was quite aggressive. I was shocked. It’s a free country, isn’t it. You can canvas if you want.
“Beforehand he was happy as Larry. He was chatting to an old lady and handing out leaflets and seemed quite happy.
“I didn’t know him before. I was going in and he was outside canvassing and giving out leaflets and fliers about the Brexit party.
“When I came out, he was having a conversation with the security guard and the manager.
“There was a homeless man there at the door and security came out and asked him to move on as well. They asked Julian to move on and he said no.
“He just refused to let him inside the door and refused him access, and he started from there. That’s when I started recording.”
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A Morrisons spokesperson said: “Customers in our store complained about the man in the video because he was forcing leaflets onto them.
“Electioneering doesn’t take place in our stores.
“He was asked to leave the store but wouldn’t. The security guard, who is from a security company, overreacted and we are dealing with this.”
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