'I never thought county would be dragged into dark place it has been...'

Opposition Tory leader hits out as ‘day of shame’ leads to meeting being halted and cops called

- By Phil Corrigan Local Democracy Reporter

Inside the meeting which had to be halted

A STAFFORDSHIRE County Council meeting descended into chaos after anti-racism activists staged a noisy protest against the ruling Reform UK group.

The full council meeting was brought to a halt when the members of the Stafford Campaign Against Racism and Fascism started chanting from the public gallery.

They said they would not leave until Reform councillors accused of making racist comments on social media resigned. The meeting on Thursday morning was suspended and the police were called to remove the protestors.

Police officers arrived after 40 minutes, and following a brief conversation the protestors agreed to leave the chamber, with the meeting resuming after lunch. The meeting came just days after the resignation of council leader Ian Cooper following allegations he had made racist posts on X and YouTube, including offensive remarks about Black and Asian public figures.

Cllr Cooper, who did not attend Thursday's meeting, had his Reform membership revoked following a party investigation into his failure to declare social media accounts during his candidate vetting.