It happened yesterday week at Manoel Island, at the beginning of the Joseph Calleja concert.

President Eddie Fenech Adami, stung by an adverse comment made by a man, spun round and replied in equally hot terms. The man was bundled out of the area by the President’s security detail.

It reminded many people of an almost similar scene some years ago when Dr Fenech Adami, then prime minister, had rounded on a woman who had called him names as he came out of the Law Courts after a particularly controversial hearing.

Partly on account of the Gzira festa, partly on account of poor organisation, the concert began 45 minutes late.

The President arrived punctually, but was delayed by the organisers (because according to protocol, the concert has to begin the moment the President takes his seat. As it happened, people took ages to get in, so the President was asked to wait as his driver drove round in circles.

The auditorium slowly filled up, and at last the President walked in accompanied by two bodyguards, some 45 minutes late.

As the President made his way to his seat, a person (described as a middle-aged, English-speaking man from the Sliema area) was walking up the aisle in the opposite direction, and didn’t stop to let the President through. President Fenech Adami stopped to let him pass, and as he did so, the man was heard passing a sarcastic comment to the President along the lines that the entire delay was his fault.

An eyewitness described how the President spun round on the man and replied angrily – the exact words quoted were: “I have been here since 9.” But the man carried on walking... whereupon the President’s two minders followed him, grabbed the man by the shoulders, and after a brief exchange, roughly escorted him off the premises.

The entire incident took place in front of around 4,000 people.