Matt Hancock feared being pushed down tube escalator, court hears

Matt Hancock told the court he felt "unsafe going about my place of work"

Former health secretary Matt Hancock said he had never felt as intimidated when an anti-vaccination protester accused him of murdering people during the Covid pandemic, a court has heard.

Geza Tarjanyi, 62, is accused of shoulder-barging the MP and shouting "ridiculous conspiracy theories".

He has denied causing harassment without violence.

Appearing as a witness, Mr Hancock said he feared being pushed down an escalator by the protester.

"As a public figure, I can't recall a time when I felt as intimidated as this," he told Westminster Magistrates' Court.

On the first occasion on 19 January, Mr Hancock was passing an anti-vaccination protest, along with a member of his staff, near Parliament where Mr Tarjanyi filmed him.

During the five-minute interaction, Mr Tarjanyi asked the MP for West Suffolk why he had "killed so many people" and shoulder-barged him, the court heard.

The ex-minister said he felt "physically intimidated" and described Mr Tarjanyi, from Leyland, Lancashire, as being "completely unreasonable".

He continued: "It made me feel unsafe going about my place of work, it made me feel frustrated that instead of engaging in a normal debate, someone was trying to intimidate me, I thought that was unacceptable.

"I had a pretty good impression he had been taken over by these ridiculous conspiracy theories."

Mr Hancock said one of the reasons he did not report the incident on 19 January was because he did not want "these people with these untrue beliefs to get further publicity from harassing me".

'Pushed from behind'

A few days later on 24 January, after Mr Hancock had breakfast with the prime minister, Mr Tarjanyi followed him through Westminster underground station and on to a train for about 10 minutes.

He again accused the MP of murdering people, the court heard.

Mr Hancock said he recognised the defendant and felt "more intimidated" because he was on his own and tried to get Transport for London (TfL) staff to intervene.

But Mr Tarjanyi began harassing "anybody who was going to come to my aid", he told the court.

The 44-year-old said he stopped at the top of the escalator to "resolve the situation" but felt the defendant pushing him towards it.

"Obviously I was extremely worried at this time. If I had lost my balance at that point, I would have tumbled down the escalator," he said.

"I was being pushed from behind," said Mr Hancock, adding: "I had to work to maintain my balance and stop myself falling down the escalator."

Both men then got on to a Jubilee Line train where Mr Tarjanyi accused the former health secretary of "murdering millions of people" before they were separated at Bond Street station, the court heard.

'Left shaken up'

Footage of the second incident from the defendant's phone showed him calling Mr Hancock a "murderous scumbag" and saying lockdown amounted to harassment of the country due to his "lies and deceit".

Parveen Mansoor, defending, said Mr Tarjanyi denies any physical contact and believes it was Mr Hancock who "barged into him".

Meanwhile, prosecutor Nutan Fatania said Mr Hancock was "left shaken up by both incidents" and was concerned for his own safety.

Mr Hancock became a household name during the Covid pandemic when he regularly spoke for the government as health secretary under the then-prime minister, Boris Johnson.

The following year he was forced to resign after images were published showing him kissing one of his advisers, Gina Coladangelo, who has since become his partner.

He remains suspended as a Tory MP for taking time off from his parliamentary duties to appear on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! in November 2022.

The trial has been adjourned until 4 July.