Councillor defends city lanyard at hotel protest

N Exeter City Council coun- cillor says she will not resign, despite claims that wearing her official city council lanyard as she joined an anti-asylum hotel pro- test breached a code of conduct.

- GUY HENDERSON Local Democracy Reporter

Alison Sheridan (Conservative, St Loyes) was pictured during a protest outside a hotel near Exeter Airport last weekend, holding an England flag and wearing her ID lanyard.

Green Party councillors say that was a breach of the code of conduct, and have lodged an official complaint as a result. There has also been a complaint from an anti-racism group in Exeter.

Cllr Sheridan said she wore the lanyard in order to be ‘transparent and open’ about her presence at the protest.

Police kept watch as a group of people with flags, homemade placards and a loudhailer staged their protest against the use of the hotel for asylum seekers. They were met by a larger group from the Stand Up To Racism Exeter group, some holding placards saying ‘Refugees Welcome Here! There have been similar protests and counter-protests at the hotel throughout August.