Pepper spray row: MP is ordered out in Madrid

Pepper spray sparks a clash in Madrid as Congress president Francina Armengol orders PP MP Ana Belén Vázquez to leave the chamber on Wednesday. Vázquez had held up an empty canister during an exchange with Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Armengol said pepper spray counts as a weapon under the rules in force.

Vázquez used the canister to argue that people in Ceuta have had to turn to such items for protection since the large-scale arrival of migrants at the end of July.

After the exchange with the minister, Armengol invoked Article 101 of the Congress rules, which bars weapons from being displayed in Parliament. She told Vázquez to leave the chamber and hand over the item.

MPs on the PP benches shouted for her to go as Vázquez tried to keep speaking from her seat. Armengol refused her the floor and issued a second warning. A third would have triggered Article 106, allowing an immediate removal for serious disorder and possible sanctions of up to a month for an MP.

Vázquez remained at her seat briefly before leaving the chamber. Her party colleagues applauded and patted her on the shoulder.

Outside, Vázquez called Armengol’s decision surreal and a bad joke. She said the canister was empty and was not a weapon, said she would hand it to a police station, and called on the Congress president to reverse the decision.

The presidency of Congress later cited Spain’s 1993 weapons regulations. They generally ban the possession and use of self-defence sprays and devices that release gases or aerosols, while allowing approved sprays to be sold in gun shops to adults who provide identification.

Topics: Police · Migration · Health · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com