Man denies assaulting Iain Duncan Smith

A man has denied assaulting Sir Iain Duncan Smith by putting a traffic cone on the former Tory party leader’s head.

Elliot Bovill, 31, is said to have attacked the 68-year-old during the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Oct 4 last year.

Bovill, from Manchester, appeared at Westminster magistrates’ mourt where he pleaded not guilty to a single count of assault by beating.

He faces a two-day trial alongside Radical Haslam, 28, from Manchester, and Ruth Wood, 50, from Cambridge.

The three defendants were granted unconditional bail and told that they do not have to attend the next hearing, where a trial date will be fixed.