Topless protester receives apology

A protester who sat topless during a council meeting after he was told to remove his T-shirt has been apologised to by the council chief executive.



Mark Sharp was told to take off his "Scrap The Cabinet" shirt before he could sit in on Southend Borough Council's public meeting on Thursday.

Members of the Saxon King In Priory Park (SKIPP) group were asked to remove their T-shirts before being allowed into the meeting at the Civic Centre, where the council was discussing cuts to its budget.


Photo from here.

Mr Sharp had nothing else to wear so entered the public gallery topless, while two other members of the group wore coats. The council had said previous meetings were disrupted by campaigners unveiling T-shirts with "derogatory" slogans. Chief executive Rob Tinlin emailed Mr Sharp to apologise and said security procedures would be reviewed.