On 19 May 2004, Tony Blair was struck by projectiles filled with purple flour during a session of prime minister’s questions (PMQs). The protest was carried out by members of the fathers’ rights campaign group, Fathers 4 Justice (F4J).

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The incident occurred as Blair faced questions from the Conservative leader of the opposition, Michael Howard, about his future.

Howard alleged that “the most senior members of the prime minister’s cabinet”, John Prescott and Gordon Brown, had stitched Blair up “like a kipper”, when – at 12:18 pm – two men threw flour-filled condoms from the so-called “distinguished strangers’ gallery”.

The two men were later identified as Ron Davis and Guy Harrison.

The projectiles landed on the government frontbench, striking Blair on his back and shoulder and narrowly missing other cabinet ministers. The prime minister looked mostly unperturbed by the purple plume.

The speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, suspended the sitting and the chamber was cleared while an investigation began.

The incident came after a £600,000 security screen had been installed in front of the public gallery. But the section reserved for guests of parliamentarians had no such barrier. It was found that Davis and Harrison, aged 50 and 36, had gained access to the gallery after securing tickets from a Labour peer, Baroness Golding.

Blair was unharmed and, according to his spokesperson, enquired shortly afterwards: “When can we go back in there again?”

Martin returned to the House to deliver a brief statement at 1:30 pm.

He pointed out that a security screen had been erected “in front of the main part of the strangers gallery”, and that members sponsoring guests or visitors to the “unscreened galleries are required to certify that their guests are known to them.”

Martin added: “They are also required to vouch for their good behaviour. Members whose guests disrupt the chamber will be required to apologise to the House; it will be for the House to decide what further action to take.

“In this case, I understand that a member of the House of Lords signed the visitor who disrupted our proceedings into the gallery.”

The speaker directed the serjeant at arms to suspend the right of peers to sponsor visitors for admission to the commons “with immediate effect.” He also confirmed that the substance thrown was not “harmful”.

It later emerged that Davis and Harrison had secured the tickets at a charity auction.

Golding offered her “unreserved apologies” to the speaker and MPs in a subsequent statement in the House of Lords.

Speaking later on 19 May, Golding said: “I regret to inform the House that the people involved in the incident earlier today at prime minister’s questions were there at my invitation. I am, of course, deeply distressed by this.

“As your Lordships would expect, I am giving all the information I have to the authorities. I have also seen the speaker of the House of Commons and apologised to him unreservedly and, through him, to all members of the House of Commons.

“My Lords, I should also like to apologise to everyone in this House.”

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Davis and Harrison were subsequently charged with public order offences and fined £500 and £600 respectively.

In an article published 20 May 2004, the Times argued that Fathers 4 Justice had become “the most prominent guerrilla pressure group in Britain”.

The group, founded in 2003, continued to organise headline-grabbing direct action stunts. In September 2004, a F4J activist climbed the walls of Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman.

Then in June 2008, two F4J activists climbed onto the roof of Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman’s house while wearing superhero costumes.

The group was disbanded in 2006 following reports linking the group to a plan to kidnap Tony Blair’s son, Leo, who was 5 years old at the time.

But a stunt on the BBC’s National Lottery Show in May 2006 suggested the group had re-emerged. Six F4J protesters ran onto the stage displaying posters that read: “Family Law Lotto, Next Time It Could Be You!”