London - A 27-year-old man in Britain has been charged after a shoe was thrown at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during a visit to Cambridge University, police said Tuesday.

The man, who has not been named, would appear before magistrates in Cambridge on February 10 accused of committing a public order offence.

The shoe was thrown at Wen and he was called a "dictator" as he gave a speech on the global economy at the renowned university Monday.

The premier, who is on a three-day visit to Britain, described the incident as "despicable." Witnesses said the shoe landed about a metre away from him.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing condemned the incident but said it would not harm Anglo-Chinese relations.

The protest was similar to an event in December when former US President George W Bush was forced to duck to avoid shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist at a press conference in Baghdad. (dpa)