Two councillors were ordered to leave a council meeting amid chaotic scenes during an angry debate on the conflict in Gaza.

Wednesday night’s full meeting of Kirklees Council came to an abrupt end with many councillors visibly shaken.

After a furious outburst, two councillors – Jo Lawson and Hanifa Darwan – were asked to leave the council chamber by Mayor of Kirklees Clr Nosheen Dad, who chaired the meeting.

Clr Lawson (Crosland Moor & Netherton) immediately left the Huddersfield Town Hall chamber but Clr Darwan (Batley East) continued to argue with the mayor, who was forced to adjourn the meeting while order was restored.

By the time the meeting resumed the debate had to be cut short as full council meetings always end at 9pm.

The motion, put forward by Clr Lawson and six other independent councillors, called for “urgent action” into what it described as the “on-going genocide in Gaza.”

The motion called for council leader Carole Pattison to write to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to “revoke licences which allow the selling of arms and military equipment to Israel”; to allow “unfettered” access for aid into Gaza; and use all diplomatic channels to call for a ceasefire and a return of the Israeli hostages.

Controversially, the motion originally called for the Palestinian flag to be flown at Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley town halls “at no expense to local council tax-payers as the flags would be purchased by a local group.” However, this paragraph was removed from the motion at the start of the debate.

The motion added: “We ask that Kirklees Council, where at all lawful and practical, to avoid purchases of goods from Israeli companies illegally occupying the aforementioned Palestinian territories.”

 

Clr Ali Arshad with (seated left) Clr Jo Lawson

 

Proposing the motion Clr Ali Arshad (Community Independents, Heckmondwike) said he refused to “stand by silently” and said councillors should be “using our voices now.”

He added: “While the suffering in Gaza is happening in real time we don’t want to stand there in years to come and say ‘never again’ to a crisis that we watched unfold and failed to confront when we had the power to speak out.

“This isn’t just a set of words on paper, it’s a heartfelt call to action. It’s a demand for justice and compassion.

“Today we have the power to make a stand and to show that our council speaks for every resident who feels deeply for those affected in Gaza.”

Clr Imran Safdar (Community Independents, Netherton & Crosland Moor) said the British government had “blood on its hands” and added: “How can we as a democracy, as a Western liberal, forward-thinking nation, lecture any foreign dictatorship on humanitarian rights when we are supplying parts for F35 bombers that are used to murder innocent Palestinian children? This is not collateral damage. It’s ethnic cleansing taking place.”

He added: “Councils like ours may seem like small organisations but we are public organisations with big budgets. We must take action in our small ways.”

Clr Zarina Amin (Lab, Ashbrow) said she wanted to “set the record absolutely straight” from the last full council meeting. On the night a vote was taken to decide whether the motion would be discussed that night. She voted against.

She said that later a poster was produced which accused her of refusing to vote for the motion, in a bid to mislead the public.

Clr Amin said: “I am appalled that certain individuals who are present today saw fit to produce a poster with photographs of myself and other Muslim colleagues, stating that we refused to vote for a motion for Israel boycotts. We put party before humanity, Starmer, Zionist supporters. I mean really? Seriously? How bloody dare you.

“This aim was to trick communities against us and it also paints a very clear target on our backs. If any of us are attacked then I hold the authors and those who conspired with them responsible.”

 

Clr John Taylor

 

The meeting descended into chaos when Conservative deputy leader Clr John Taylor (Kirkburton) was shouted down by councillors Lawson and Darwan.

Clr Taylor said that the International Court of Justice had not found Israel guilty of “genocide”, which was a profoundly serious allegation that had to be thoroughly investigated.

The Mayor immediately asked both councillors Lawson and Darwan to leave for their disruptive behaviour but Clr Darwan refused repeated requests to go, forcing the Mayor to adjourn the meeting for five minutes.

After councillors returned – and with the time approaching 9pm – the debate was curtailed and went straight to the vote.

Labour councillors were allowed a free vote and the motion was passed by just one vote, 27-26, with five abstentions.

The following morning Clr Taylor said he had made a formal complaint to the council concerning Clr Darwan’s behaviour, which he said had seen freedom of speech curtailed.

In a statement he added: “The humanitarian toll of this conflict is dreadful and like many other conflicts across the world cannot be ignored.

“Civilians on both sides are experiencing immense suffering. This conflict needs to be brought to an end as soon as possible and the release of the remaining hostages is at the heart of this conflict and was shamefully ignored in the motion before council.

“I feel that it’s not for Kirklees to use its precious time and scarce resources to bring judgment over a selected foreign conflict, especially without having all the relevant facts and information.

“The residents of Kirklees have chosen us to improve the lives of people in our towns and villages and we owe it to them to spend our time wisely and do just that.”