Hastings councillor accused of ‘invading’ speaker’s ‘personal space’ at Ukraine protest

Cllr Maya Evans, Labour councillor for Hollington ward, was invited to speak at the event on The Stade but said Cllr Mike Edwards, Conservative councillor for Ashdown ward, tried to snatch the microphone away while she was talking.

Cllr Edwards said he approached her, trying to ‘put forward a word of balance’ as he added Cllr Evans ‘embarked on a lengthy left-wing diatribe’.

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Cllr Evans said: “I was extremely shocked by the way Cllr Edwards behaved towards me at the Ukraine peace rally.

“Trying to get the microphone away from me while invading my personal space.” She added: “It was extreme behaviour and totally unacceptable, especially as he’s an elected representative.

“Free speech is a cornerstone of democracy, I was an invited speaker at the event, Cllr Edwards actually stopped me from voicing my right to speak.

She added: “In the week of International Women’s Day I was reminded that a study showed men are 33 per cent more likely to interrupt women than they are to interrupt other men.

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“I think the leader of the local Conservative Group Cllr Patmore should apologise for the unbecoming behaviour of his party member.

“I recommend Cllr Edwards attend professional training so he understands that it is totally unacceptable to lay hands on someone without their consent, even if he disagrees with their opinion.”

Cllr Edwards said: “Along with so many others around the world I had watched the unfolding disaster of the invasion of Ukraine by the Putin forces. As each day passed further examples of human tragedy were revealed with the shelling of high rise flats, maternity wards, ancient churches and government buildings. The collateral damage to the innocent population; the elderly, women and children and the sick was real and there for us all to see on our television screens.

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“Across Europe there was an upsurge of sympathy for the people of Ukraine and the horrific plight they faced, many sheltering deep under ground in nuclear shelters without food and water.

“Huge crowds assembled in hundreds of towns and cities to share their pain with the Ukrainian people, to offer their solidarity and support and to express their total condemnation of Putin and his military machine.

“It was in this context that I was keen to participate in a Hastings demonstration which was advertising support for Ukraine. I assumed the only motivation was to share our sympathies as had been done by so many others.

“We set off from the pier to the Stade where the marchers, about one hundred in number gathered to hear some speeches. To my surprise the fist speaker was Cllr Maya Evans who embarked on a lengthy left-wing diatribe, which included the usual favourites such as an unlimited welcome to ‘refugees’ and the Corbynite ‘stop the war’ falsehoods.

“She demanded a ceasefire, though I fear Putin would not have heard her call. She made scarcely no mention of the Putin genocide, which is still progressing and she made no criticism of the illegal invasion of a sovereign country.

“She did, however, make comments about the council elections and called on people to get out and campaign on behalf of her favoured causes. After some 10 minutes of listening to this my patience had worn thin.

“I approached her seeking to put forward a word of balance myself. She was keen to prevent this.

“At this moment I was approached by Cllrs Chowney and Batsford who guided me peacefully away.

“I was told I couldn’t speak because I wasn’t on the speakers list and it then became apparent that this was a Hastings Labour Party event, a fact they had kept concealed in all the prior publicity.

“I was shocked and annoyed at this deception, others attending did so for the same honourable reason as I had. I stayed to listen to one Ukrainian lady recounting her sad story and then I left.”

A spokesperson for Hastings Borough Council said: “The council has received a number of complaints about an incident involving councillors at the Ukraine Support Rally in Hastings on Sunday, March 6.

“We take allegations of councillor misconduct seriously and the allegations will be thoroughly investigated and considered under the council’s Code of Conduct procedure.”