British finance minister Gordon Brown was heckled Sunday by a protestor over his stance on the renewal of the country's independent nuclear deterrent. Brown, who is likely to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair who is to step down within a year, was taking questions from the audience at a book promotion session as part of the Edinburgh Book Festival.
One person asked about his support for a system to replace Britain's Trident submarine nuclear missile system, to which he said there had to be a public debate on the issue.
He noted that the number of states with nuclear weapons had increased, at which point audience member Janet Fenton shouted: "It's because you have not complied with the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
Fenton then attempted to hand Brown a letter, though when police moved in she dropped it on the stage in front of him. She was eventually allowed to return to her seat.
Brown said he would read the letter "carefully".
Source: Agence France-Presse
