'Hamas' row Gasps as councillor says school ‘behaves likes terrorists’

A CONSERVATIVE councillor in Bristol has sparked outrage after he said one of the city’s biggest secondary schools “behave like terrorists do’) and compared them to Hamas.

- Tristan CORK

The remark sparked gasps from councillors sitting around him, and then when asked to withdraw it, Cllr Richard Eddy told another councillor he “could whistle in the wind".

The remark about Cotham School left councillors shocked and the school’s leaders considering taking legal action. The two main parties at City Hall have also both called on Cllr Eddy to withdraw the remarks and apologise.

Cllr Eddy was taking part in a discussion in Monday evening's economy and skills policy committee, which saw several members of the campaign group We Love Stoke Lodge call on the council to withdraw permitted development rights from Cotham School. The school leases a large playing field from the city council, which has been the subject of a 13-year long dispute over shared access between local residents and the school.