Police escorted Michael Gove out of Victoria railway station in London on Saturday after he was mobbed by protesters. It came moments after a sit-in protest for Palestine ended.
Footage shared on social media showed Gove surrounded by a large group of police as they sought to keep demonstrators away from him.
Flag-waving protesters crowding him could be heard chanting “shame on you” as officers called on them to “get back”.
The levelling up, housing and communities minister tweeted his thanks to police for their “exemplary work” on Saturday.
Gove said: “I’m very grateful for so many kind messages in the last 24 hours. I’d like to thank the police for their exemplary work getting me home safely yesterday”.
Thousands of demonstrators marched in London on Armistice Day, calling for an Israel-Gaza ceasefire. Organisers have said that the march could be one of the biggest in British history.
300,000 pro-Palestine protesters are said to have attended the march.
The rally had been the backdrop to a political row over home secretary’s Suella Braverman criticism of it as a “hate march”.
In the article, which the prime minister’s official spokesman confirmed was published without being signed off, she claimed: “They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups — particularly Islamists — of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland”.
She also criticised the police for showing double standards and favouring “the left” in refusing to ban the march.
The march passed off peacefully on Saturday, but at least 92 counter-protesters have been arrested as far-right groups clashed with police.
Expressing sympathy with Michael Gove, London mayor Sadiq Khan described attempts to intimidate politicians as “unacceptable”.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said: “It’s not ‘bizarre’ for Michael Gove to use a major tube/train station. He should be able to travel in peace like everyone else.
“Those acting in this fashion damage their cause and, along with those displaying abhorrent antisemitism among the rally today, must be condemned.”
Conservative MP Sir Michael Fabricant described the protesters as a “hateful mob”.
Baroness Foster, the former DUP leader, said: “This is so disgraceful. Sending solidarity to [Michael Gove] and all those who seek to go about their private business on a Saturday afternoon but who are intimidated by thugs.”
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