The way in which Mark Field MP forcibly removed a female climate change protester from a black-tie dinner in the City of London is "massively concerning", a Christian campaigner against domestic abuse has said.
Video footage was widely shared on social media of the Tory MP grabbing Greenpeace activist Janet Barker and marching her out of the room at Mansion House. His actions prompted calls from some Labour MPs for him to be sacked.
Mr Field, who is Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, later said he was "genuinely worried" she may have been armed, the BBC reports, but apologised for his actions and referred himself to the Cabinet Office as well as the Conservative Party.
A spokeswoman for 10 Downing Street said he would be suspended as a minister while investigations take place after Prime Minister Theresa May viewed the footage and found it "very concerning".
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Mark has issued a full and unreserved apology. He recognised that what happened was an over-reaction.
"In his interest and in the interest of the lady involved we need a proper [Cabinet Office] inquiry and that's what going to happen."
While some critics said the incident should be a police matter, Ms Barker has said she does not intend to make a formal complaint, but she did say she thinks the MP should take "anger management classes".
"He certainly manhandled me in a way in which was very disagreeable," she told the BBC.
Natalie Collins, a Christian campaigner and writer on issues of domestic abuse, said there was "no justification at all" for Mr Field's behaviour.
She welcomed the action taken by the Conservative Party, saying a message needed to be sent that the behaviour was not acceptable.
"The reality is that when men are not given any kind of consequences to this behaviour, it very much gives permission for it, not necessarily just to him but any man watching the video thinking, 'That's what I would have done to her too,'" she said.
"When there are no consequences, it sends the message that it's ok to do that. Some will seek to minimise what has happened but we need to challenge these things to stop them escalating."
Ms Collins said it was "really concerning" that none of the guests at the dinner stood up to help Ms Barker, saying that it reinforced the need to "mobilise people to be active bystanders" and that "it is on men particularly to be mobilised to challenge this behaviour".
"Challenging someone is not always easy because it's human nature in these kinds of situations to go into self-protection mode," she said.
"But we all need to take responsibility. Usually it just requires one person; if that one person stands up and says 'stop, this is not acceptable', it mobilises other people."
