Deputy parliament speaker Atanas Atanasov has called on speaker Mihaela Dotsova to resign over an incident involving a journalist, the press office of Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria said.

Atanasov posted his call on Facebook. He described an "unacceptable assault that caused bodily harm to a journalist right in front of her" and said Dotsova did not react as a decent person would.

"Such callousness and inhumane behaviour are incompatible with the post of parliament speaker," Atanasov wrote.

The incident happened at an event attended by people under the protection of the National Protective Service (NSO). It involved NSO staff and a representative of the PIK news agency.

Earlier the same day, the NSO said it had ordered a check on the actions of the security staff that led to the incident.

Follow-up: Speaker Dotsova apologises to Sonya Koltuklieva in person over incident with her official car