The 'purple powder' protestor

Guy Harrison threw the purple powder at Tony Blair

Guy Harrison is the man who stopped Parliament when he threw purple powder at the Prime Minister.

He is a millionaire businessman with no previous history of militancy or direct action.

However he claims his experiences with the family law courts drove him to protest.

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I actually remember the sheer terror. You were just about to stop Parliament and you were going to get arrested, put in jail - quite understandably.

Even watching it back on TV I can get the same adrenaline feeling of how horrible it was and wanting to back out of it and say: 'Actually I don't want to do this!'

After the protest I was arrested by the Westminster police armed security and then handed on to Special Ops 13, which is the anti-terrorist Al Qaeda police.

Bugged

I next expect to see my daughter when I have changed the law with the aid of Fathers 4 Justice

When they started interrogating me they were trying to intimidate me. I said, 'Please understand that I know I'm in a British jail therefore please don't try and insult my intelligence.

'You can hold me for 24 hours and I'm not with-holding any evidence or information. Anything you want to know I'll tell you so please don't try these scare tactics.'

They turned round and said 'Mr Harrison you've been arrested under terrorism, we can hold you 14 days without charge and when we do charge you we can jail you for up to 21 years,' to which I was thinking 'Crikey!'

I genuinely believe that they would never give me anything like that, but they could well have given me a year, or two years.

After I was arrested, the police took everything - they went through every photograph, every bank statement.

Criminal record

The infamous purple powder attack in Parliament

It's quite possible my house is now bugged. All of our phones are now.

Why did I do it? I did it because I went to court something like 38 times. I have spent £50,000. I have got three court orders that literally are worth nothing.

In fact, I next expect to see my daughter when I have changed the law with the aid of Fathers 4 Justice.

At least I can show my daughter reams of court orders and I can show her the papers of what's been happening in the media. I've got now a criminal record linked to terrorism.

I have these files compiled that say to her 'This is what I did to try and change the law so that I could see you.'

People Power, a BBC documentary which examines what makes ordinary people take to the streets in order to protest their frustration at unfairness and injustice on a single issue, will be broadcast on Sunday, March 13, 2005 at 2215GMT on BBC One.