West Suffolk Council meeting suspended after public disruption

The full council meeting was disrupted by "unruly behaviour" during which the proceedings were suspended

A full council meeting had to be suspended after members of the public appeared to disrupt proceedings.

It happened during public questions at a meeting of West Suffolk Council in Bury St Edmunds on Tuesday.

One man, who exceeded the five minutes allocated, interrupted councillors from the middle of the chamber in West Suffolk House, it was said.

Another described unsatisfactory responses as "like banging my head against a brick wall".

An individual who addressed the council raised several topics at once, including the cost of living crisis, climate scepticism, Covid-19 vaccines and the schools systems' approach to sex education.

'Unruly behaviour'

One member of the public was refused the right to speak at the meeting due to having already brought up the same topics during previous hearings.

Under the council's procedural rules, public questions can be rejected if they are "substantially the same" as any put forward to the council in the "past six months".

The meeting was suspended and all councillors were asked to leave, with members of the public leaving peacefully 30 minutes later.

Councillors said the suspension of the meeting was not due to the arguments being raised, but as a result of the unruly behaviour.

The group which included several other members of the public, left peacefully