She slimed him...

You have to feel some sympathy for Peter Mandelson, writes blogger David Banner. No, seriously, you do. (I know it isn't easy, but you have to. Well, at least give it a go. Go on ... Oh, all right then, can you at least try a sympathetic expression?)

There he was, innocently arriving at the Government's low carbon economy summit in London when a climate change protester stepped forward and threw a cup of green slime over him.

She was from the group Plane Stupid, which is against a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

According to reports Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, met lobbyists from Heathrow owner BAA before the Government gave the third runway its blessing.

The environmental protesters say Mandelson attending a climate change meeting after his government approved another runway is an insult.

So, as Mandy got out of his ministerial car, the Plane Stupid protester walked up to him and threw a cup of what she called "green slime." He didn't stand a chance.

Afterwards she calmly walked away, although she did leave the watching reporters a dream quote: "The only thing green about Peter Mandelson is the slime coursing through his veins."

So far, so funny.

But isn't really very funny, is it? What if she'd had something more sinister in that cup? Something really nasty? Then where would we be?

Now you could argue that she should have used democratic means to get her view across. She could have waved a placard or handed out leaflets. Of course, because of our jaded news media, that wouldn't have given her a lot of airtime.

Alternatively, you could argue that ours is a Government which just isn't very good at listening to public opinion. There was massive unhappiness at the Heathrow proposal, and they ignored it. One million people marched through London in opposition to the Iraq war, and they ignored it. How else do you make your voice heard?

And you could say that stunts like this do more harm than good. People simply turn away from such actions.

The fact is, elected politicians have the right to go about their business without people throwing things at them (yes, I know Mandelson wasn't elected, but bear with me). Throwing things does not enhance your cause. In fact, it does quite the opposite.

Remember when John Prescott, quite magnificently, punched a man for throwing an egg at him? Quite right too.

However, we don't want to see Mandelson reaching for a bucket of Dulux's finest Raspberry Delight the next time someone decides to take matters into their own hands.

So, could we agree that Plane Stupid and their ilk will not do it again?

And in return, can Mandelson and co agree to actually listen to the people?