‘Headless body in topless bar’: Journalist told to remove ‘offensive’ T-shirt at Parliament House

SOMEONE was stopped from entering Parliament House today because he was wearing a T-shirt. Not just any T-shirt, mind you.

You can’t enter Parliament in this T-shirt

WITH Australia’s terror alert at high, you can’t blame the security guards at Parliament House for being extra careful with who they let in. But this may be taking the precautions a little too far.

A reporter has been asked to remove a T-shirt emblazoned with one of the most famous headlines in the history of journalism because it was deemed too offensive for our federal parliament building.

Nick Butterly, of The West Australian, went for a run this morning wearing the shirt bearing the classic New York Post headline “Headless body in topless bar”, ABC News reports.

But when he returned to the House, he was stopped by a female security guard, who ordered him to remove the shirt because it was “offensive”.

Parliament House security bans West Australian journalist's tee shirt claiming "some people would find it offensive" pic.twitter.com/lrTLLc3haS

— Chris Uhlmann (@CUhlmann) January 19, 2015

“I laughed thinking she was joking and moved to leave,” Butterly told the ABC.

“She became quite serious and said I would have to stand in the corner and suggested I might not be able to enter the building.”

After some discussion, another security guard intervened and said he should be allowed to go in and change.

Security maybe a little testy at Parliament House since last October when three men attempted to enter dressed in Ku Klux Klan garb, a niqab and a helmet, campaigning in favour of the proposed “burqa ban”.

News.com.au has approached Butterly for comment. His press gallery colleague who was running with him at the time of the incident, Andrew Tillett, declined to comment.