A NUMBER of protesters have said they were barred from attending a Staffordshire County Council meeting.
It comes after five people were escorted by police from County Buildings after repeated chanting in the public gallery at a meeting in December.
Security has since been beefed up, with a number of staff present during a meeting this week.
But protestors who attended the December meeting said that five people were not permitted inside the building for the latest session.
A letter given to one of the protesters on behalf of the county council, said:
“When you attended the meeting on 11th December 2025 it became necessary for the meeting to be adjourned. This was because you refused to comply with the requests of the chairman to allow the meeting to progress.
“Your conduct led to a prolonged disruption of a public meeting and Staffordshire Police had to attend before you agreed to leave the chamber. We therefore have no confidence that you will follow any chairman direction today.
“Staffordshire County Council wholly supports the right of any person to engage in peaceful and lawful protest. There are allegations that your protest was not peaceful or lawful that have yet to be investigated and determined.
“We must ensure that the important business of the council can be conducted and that our members feel safe in the conduct of their role. You can view a live broadcast of the council meeting.”
Those not permitted to attend the meeting yesterday (12th February) included Gillian Pardesi, a current serving member of Stafford Borough Council and a former county councillor who stood down last May.
Damon Hoppe, who was present at the 11th December meeting, was also denied entry .
He said:
“I wasn’t surprised they didn’t want to let us in. This is democracy denied – it is an absolute farce.
“They don’t want people to know what is going on in there. They think they can get away with it behind closed doors but that’s not how local democracy works.”
Before the start of the meeting, protesters held banners outside two entrances to County Buildings calling for the departure of Cllr Chris Large, Cllr Peter Mason and Cllr Ian Cooper, who have all come under fire from anti-racism campaigners.
Cllr Large was due to be the council’s new leader. But he stepped down just seven days after being appointed due to a family bereavement.
Cllr Cooper, who has previously led the authority, was expelled from Reform UK after he failed to disclose a social media account and now sits as an independent member.
All three were all absent from Thursday’s meeting.