Disruption from the public gallery caused the cancellation of a full Sefton Council meeting this evening, with police eventually called to Southport Town Hall.
Members of the public, a number of whom wore Merseyside Residents Associaion lanyards, sought to protest over matters related to Net Zero policies, immigration and 5G masts.
A group of about 30 to 40 members of the public traded insults with councillors, with Mayor of Sefton Councillor June Burns initially calling a temporary halt to the meeting, before cancelling it definitively 20 minutes later.
Towards the opening of the meeting, as the usual “Questions raised by members of the public” were presented, the group sought to raise lengthy subsequent enquiries.
Members of the public are allowed to submit a written issue to Council meetings, and ask a single subsequent question in the chamber, and it was this limited framework which initially caused frustration, with Cllr Burns preventing a lengthy list of continuous questions.
The first question, asked how much money was spent by the Council on “immigrants off [sic] all descriptions”, with a written response clarifying this figure was £1.1m, which is provided through grants such as The Homes For Ukraine Programme, The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and the Local Authority Housing Fund.
A second question from the same group demanded to know why Sefton Council had adopted a Net Zero policy that he claimed lacked scientific justification or a sound financial basis. Unsatisfied with the answer from Cllr Mhairi Doyle, further shouts erupted from the chamber.
It was a third question from the same group that led to the initial postponement of the meeting. Asked how many 5G mast applications had been refused on health grounds, Councillor Mhairi Doyle said that she didn’t have the information to hand, and would endeavour to respond with the correct figure.
Another gentleman from the group at this point rose to his feet, claiming that 5G was a “genocide” and decried the damage 5G had done “to the ovaries of young women”.
With the man refusing to leave the meeting when requested to do so, Cllr Burns suspended the session.
Members of public the gallery asked the man to consider leaving so that another group in attendance, 10 or so local school children, may hear the presentation of a petition calling for a local skatepark, later preseneted by Claire Kelly.
During the presentation of their petition, a child made a significant allegation against a councillor, which OTS News is unable to repeat without verification. The allegation was seized upon by a member of the protestors, who made loud accusations towards the councillor. With the accusation awkwardly ignored, the Council resolved to continue investigations into a potential bike park.
Following the conclusion of the presentation of the petition, the gentleman who submitted the first question, now newly arrived in the chamber, demanded to know why he was unable to now ask his question, despite the agenda having continued.
The man demanded to know “when you were trying to be elected, did you tell people you would spend £1m on foreigners?”. The question prompted Cllr Clare Carrragher to mutter “fascists” at the group, provoking fury from the public gallery.
Cllr Burns again called a halt to proceedings, with the public gallery shouting numerous allegations at a range of councillors. The meeting did not resume, with the group shouting “we’ll be back next time” as they were escorted from the chamber.
OTS News understands that Merseyside Police were called to ensure the safety of councillors and members of the public.