Beijing - China's state-run media remained silent over a shoe thrown in protest against Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during a visit to Britain, but the country's foreign ministry Tuesday launched a protest against the "despicable act."

A protestor, repeating a similar protest against then US president George W Bush in December in Baghdad, threw a shoe at Wen on Monday during a lecture at Cambridge University.

One onlooker said Wen was getting toward the end of the lecture when someone stood and shouted: "How can you listen to this unchallenged?"

Security staff arrested the shoe-thrower. The missile missed We, the university said.

"A man desperately tried to destroy the order in the room. His action met with strong resistance by the audience. He was booed and led away," the ministry gave its version of the events, without mentioning the thrown shoe.

The country's state-controlled media and web portals only reported a "disruption" of Wen's speech, only one financial website mentioned the incident in a lengthy report on unemployment in China and was probably missed by the censors.

He commented in Chinese, "This despicable act will not prevent the friendship between the Chinese and the British people."

The Chinese premier's three-day visit to Britain, which began on Sunday, has been overshadowed by protests against China's Tibet policy.

Contrary to the current indignation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry was amused over Bush's shoe mishap. "I should watch out for not only who are raising their hands, but also who are untying their shoelaces," ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao had said. (dpa)