Jeremy Corbyn egging: man charged with assault

A man has been charged with assault after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was egged during a visit to a mosque in north London.

Police confirmed on Monday morning that John Murphy, 31, had been charged with assault following the incident at Finsbury Park Mosque and Muslim Welfare House.

The Guardian reports that “Murphy allegedly shouted ‘when you vote you get what you vote for’ as he came from behind and hit Corbyn with an egg”.

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Murphy, of Barnet, north London, will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 19 March. He is not believed to be a regular attendee of the mosque.

Corbyn continued with his planned programme of constituency events despite the attack, reports the London Evening Standard.

Sky News says that the Labour boss was “unhurt by the egg, which was pressed down on his head rather than thrown”.

He later left with a police escort, the BBC reports.

Labour MP Jess Phillips tweeted that “acts of violence against politicians loses your argument, lessens your cause and demeans our democracy”.

Corbyn, who was meeting Muslim worshippers as part of the nationwide Visit My Mosque Day, posted a message in which he said: “Let’s build bridges not walls.”