Then the actual footage of the incident emerged. You can clearly see the adviser walking into an outstretched hand. The protester didn't even know he was there.
Here's the footage:
So Peston has now tweeted:
Why aren't these senior Tories named? If they are blatantly lying to the press like this, the public deserve the right to know. Especially if they are lying to Peston and he then repeats the lie. He has a duty to first check his facts and second to report on who lied to him.It is completely clear from video footage that @MattHancock's adviser was not whacked by a protestor, as I was told by senior Tories, but that he inadvertently walked into a protestor's hand. I apologise for getting this wrong.