When Janet Paraskeva applied for the post of Law Society chief executive more than four years ago, it is unlikely that the interview panel grilled her on self-defence or martial arts abilities. Well, Obiter is here to reassure the profession that the Society's top bureaucrat is fully competent when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. Sitting in the front row at last week's family law panel conference in Manchester, Ms Paraskeva jumped nimbly to her feet as two protesters from Fathers for Justice attempted to handcuff themselves to children minister Margaret Hodge. She wrestled one of the attackers away, although the second was able to attach himself to the minister, causing a half-hour delay to the conference as Manchester's finest were summonsed. The F4J boys, being no fools, had super-glued the handcuff lock, forcing the constables to beg a pair of bolt cutters from the hotel staff. There was much consternation - not least among the conference organisers, who said they had alerted the police to the likelihood of a demonstration - at the apparent lack of security. But the boys forming Manchester's thin blue line were adamant that they had not slipped up. Steve Thomas, assistant chief constable for the Greater Manchester Police, said: 'Prior to the conference, we reviewed the security for the event and had no intelligence to suggest that a threat was posed. Living in a democratic open society, there is a balance to strike between providing security to public figures and allowing members of the public access to them.' Incidentally, Margaret Hodge is married to recently appointed solicitor High Court judge Henry Hodge, who was a Law Society senior office holder at the height of Chancery Lane politicking and electioneering. Between the two of them, they must have some hugely entertaining dinner party stories.