So much for security vetting: Notorious prankster who handed Theresa May her 'P45' during party conference speech was issued with a pass in his OWN name

• Theresa May 's big speech was interrupted by serial prankster Simon Brodkin
• Brodkin waved the P45 at her and said: 'Boris asked me to give this to you'
• He turned to Foreign Secretary and said: 'Tell them Boris' before security arrived
• Comedian was carted off and arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace  
• Star had conference accreditation from Tories in his own name so was released
• Coinservative Party and police said they will be reviewing event security 

A notorious prankster made a mockery of security and embarrassed police today after giving Theresa May a P45 during the biggest speech of her political life.

Simon Brodkin, 40, better known by his TV persona Lee Nelson, handed Mrs May her termination of employment and yelled: 'Boris Johnson made me do it' as he was dragged from the Manchester conference hall.

He was arrested and put in cuffs only to be released minutes later when police saw he had an official pass in his own name and had already been vetted by them and the Tories.

The Prime Minister looked startled as he gave her the P45 saying: 'Boris asked me to give this to you' before turning to the Foreign Secretary with his thumbs up telling him: 'Boris, job done mate'.

The stunt marred Mrs May's make-or-break speech and afterwards she couldn't stop coughing and needed large gulps of water and throat lozenges to get through it. 

Brodkin's latest prank exposed lax security as he was able to be within touching distance of Mrs May and the entire cabinet for at least 20 seconds before being grabbed.

It also raises serious questions for Greater Manchester Police, who were in charge of policing the event and vetting delegates, and the Met, who take responsibility for the Prime Minister's personal security. 

There were also calls for Tory party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin to resign over the unprecedented security blunder and Amber Rudd was asked by the BBC afterwards: 'What if the P45 was acid?' while Brexit Secretary David Davis called the breach 'extraordinary'.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was 'very disappointed' about the security breach.

'I am going to continue to follow what's going on, it's in the hands of the police and we will make sure we look carefully into how it happened to make sure it doesn't again,' she told BBC Radio 4's PM. 

His pass was for delegates from Avalon UK a talent agency representing actors, presenters and comedians including Brodkin, who has become famous for his set ups of Sepp Blatter, Kanye West, Donald Trump and others in the past. 

Brodkin went to the exclusive private University College School in Hampstead, north London before studying to become a doctor.

After leaving medicine to become a comedian he became best known for his TV character Lee Nelson, a male version of Catherine Tate's well-known chav character Lauren Cooper.

At his £1.2m north London pad home his wife Louise would not comment on the incident but gave a cheeky smile - hinting approval. MailOnline has had no response from agents Avalon, who appear to have secured his pass.

Today he stood up at a key moment and incredibly Mrs May took the P45 as he blamed Boris for the stunt.

The Prime Minister recovered from the interruption to say: 'I was about to talk about somebody who I would like to give a P45 to, and that's Jeremy Corbyn'.

Mr Johnson looked furious at Brodkin's intervention and didn't appear to respond but Home Secretary Amber Rudd gave him some stern words before he was led away and arrested for breaching the peace. 

The Foreign Secretary's ambitions and loyalty to Mrs May has dominated the Tory conference and overshadowed the Prime Minister's speech, which went so awry.

Brodkin was booed by delegates as he was taken away and yelled repeatedly: 'Boris Johnson made me do it' and 'Boris has left me in the lurch'. 

Around the same time, a tweet from his official Twitter account appeared, saying: 'Hi @BorisJohnson, I gave Theresa her P45 just like you asked.' 

The 'P45' he handed to the Prime Minister gave the 'Reason for termination' as: 'Neither strong or stable. We're a bit worried about Jezza.'  

He was put in cuffs, arrested and put in the back of a police van outside the conference venue before being released. 

Chief Superintendent John O'Hare said: 'Earlier today a man was detained by conference security during the Prime Minister's speech.

'Officers attended and the man was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and was released a short time later.

'The man had legitimate accreditation which granted him access to the conference site.

'In light of this we will be reviewing the accreditation process with the Conservative Party. Even with accreditation, everyone at the conference goes through airport-style searches before being allowed entry to the site.'

The Met Police run Theresa May's security and they will also be reviewing what happened. 

The security breach is deeply embarrassing for the Tories and the police, wo are 

A Downing Street source said: 'We expect that there will be a thorough investigation into what happened.'

The source declined to discuss the Prime Minister's security arrangements.

Asked how Mrs May had reacted to being approached on stage during her speech, the source said that everyone had seen her joke about it shortly afterwards.

Senior Conservative MP George Freeman, head of the Prime Minister's policy board, said of the prankster's interruption: 'There should be some very serious questions - that could have been a terrorist.'

He added: 'My understanding is he's a comedian, he's often used by the BBC, and questions will be asked about how he was allowed to get that close.'

There was another comic moment during the speech, when two letters fell off the slogan behind Mrs May.

It had read 'BUILDING A COUNTRY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE' until the F in FOR and the final E in EVERYONE disappeared. 

Manchester Chief Superintendent John O'Hare said this evening: 'Over the past five days Manchester City Centre has played host to the Conservative Party Conference which saw more than 12,000 delegates visit our city.

'This is a complex and challenging security and public order operation which requires a high degree of partnership activity and the highest levels of professionalism throughout. 

'Throughout this operation officers have worked tirelessly to protect delegates, facilitate the protests, and keep our city safe.

'I am proud of all our officers and staff. They have all performed their duties to the highest of standards and acted in a professional and fair manner throughout.

'I also want to thank everyone who lives in, works in or was visiting the city centre while this operation has been taking place for their patience, support and co-operation.'

The comedian, whose stage name is Lee Nelson, made a name for himself with a stunt at a press conference where he showered scandal-hit Fifa president Sepp Blatter with money.

He was arrested by Swiss authorities for trespassing at the event in July 2015 but later released.

He has also targeted Philip Green, the former owner of collapsed retailer BHS, by hanging a sign reading 'BHS Destroyer' on the billionaire's superyacht, and disrupted then US presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Turnberry ribbon-cutting ceremony by attempting to hand out golf balls with a swastika printed on them.

Brodkinalso stormed the Glastonbury stage during Kanye West's set in June 2015 wearing a T-shirt with 'Lee-Zus' on it before being removed by security.

A year earlier, he tried to board the England football team's jet as they set off for the Brazil World Cup.

He was given a conditional caution after he duped security at Manchester City's game at Everton in March 2013 and limbered up alongside star players. 

Ex doctor who craves publicity

Growing up in a £3million house in North London with his lawyer parents, Simon Brodkin first went to Manchester to study medicine.

But instead of pursuing a career as a doctor, the former public schoolboy – who despite his juvenile stunt with the Prime Minister is actually a 40-year-old married father – has attempted to make a name for himself as a TV comedian with a series of childish pranks.

While he has had shows on Channel 4 and BBC3, it was his relative obscurity – at least among Tory delegates – that seems to have enabled him to infiltrate the party conference.

His name may have meant little to the staff responsible for vetting everyone, but a glance at his track record ought to have rung alarm bells.

In 2015 Brodkin was arrested by Swiss police after bursting into a Fifa press conference and throwing handfuls of money at its scandal-hit president Sepp Blatter.

Last year he even disrupted a Donald Trump press conference held by the-then presidential candidate to open a golf course in Scotland, giving out balls with swastikas stamped on them.

It may be no coincidence that Brodkin is currently touring his stand-up show, with tickets available for all performances.

His prankster reputation began in liberal Hampstead, North London, where he was thrown out of lessons for fooling around at £18,700-a-year University College School. After leaving university in 2001, life as an NHS junior doctor in a ‘crumbling hospital’ saw him concentrate increasingly on his fledgling comedy career.

He became a full-time comedian in 2007 and then landed his own series on BBC under the name of his best-known alter ego Lee Nelson, a baseball cap-wearing working class ‘chav’.

He also created blond-quiffed footballer Jason Bent, getting on to the pitch with Manchester City stars shortly before a match against Everton in 2013.

For that stunt he was arrested and taken to court, where a judge gave him a conditional caution.

The following year he infuriated X Factor bosses by sneaking on-stage to join band Stereo Kicks.

Later he attempted to board the England football team’s charter plane to the World Cup in Brazil.

He even tracked down Sir Philip Green’s £100million superyacht in Monaco and renamed it BHS Destroyer using a home-made banner.

Brodkin and his wife live in a £1.2million terrace cottage close to Hampstead Heath. Yesterday his agents failed to respond to a request for comment.

 

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The incident happened just moments after Mrs May apologised to her party for her performance in the botched campaign for this year's snap election.

She admitted the campaign was 'too scripted, too presidential' and said she took responsibility for its shortcomings.

After calling an election three years early in the hope of increasing her dominance in the House of Commons, Mrs May lost 13 MPs and forfeited her majority, forcing her into a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.

She won long applause from party delegates as she said: 'We did not get the victory we wanted because our national campaign fell short.

'It was too scripted. Too presidential. And it allowed the Labour Party to paint us as the voice of continuity when the public wanted to hear a message of change.

'I hold my hands up for that. I take responsibility. I led the campaign. And I am sorry.'

Brodkin has a track record of pulling off similar stunts. He once threw a pile of dollars at the then Fifa president Sepp Blatter during a press conference.

Mrs May's speech was also interrupted by fits of coughing, which she laughed off.

 

Serial prankster strikes again as croaky Theresa May is left spluttering

 Simon Brodkin's prank on Theresa May is one in a long line of successful stunts.

Brodkin, who's also the brains behind comedy persona Lee Nelson, famously threw cash at disgraced FIFA chief Sepp Blatter and tied a banner to Sir Philip Green's superyacht in the wake of BHS' collapse.

In January he posed as Orthodox Jewish rapper Steven Goldblatt on Britain's Got Talent to get an insight into the workings of the talent competition for a new Channel 4 documentary.

He secretly recorded his eight-hour audition process which resulted in him receiving four 'yes' verdicts from judges Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden.

He has also targeted Philip Green, the former owner of collapsed retailer BHS, by hanging a sign reading 'BHS Destroyer' on the billionaire's superyacht, and disrupted then US presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Turnberry ribbon-cutting ceremony by attempting to hand out golf balls with a swastika printed on them.

Nelson also stormed the Glastonbury stage during Kanye West's set in June 2015 wearing a T-shirt with 'Lee-Zus' on it before being removed by security.

A year earlier, he tried to board the England football team's jet as they set off for the Brazil World Cup.

He was given a conditional caution after he duped security at Manchester City's game at Everton in March 2013 and limbered up alongside star players.