Security Concerns Raised Following Council Meeting Incident
Review of arrangements to protect attendees launched after opposition request
Council Leader Stephen Cowan speaking at the meeting before the incident
October 27, 2025
There was a moment of drama at a Hammersmith& Fulham council meeting when a resident who had been hoping to ask a question ran towards the council leader, in a move that has raised security concerns.
The woman, who posed no actual threat, had wanted to pose a query to Council Leader Stephen Cowan at a meeting on Wednesday night (22 October) though did not submit it in time. She has said she was unaware of the deadline and so her question was left off the evening’s agenda.
Despite not being listed to speak, the woman was able to make her way down from the public gallery to the chamber with those whose names had been added to the list of speakers.
Hammersmith and Fulham allocates 20 minutes at Full Council meetings to public questions, each of which is followed by a response from a member and potential follow-up query.
Some form of commotion could be heard after the time had expired before the woman dashed to Cllr Cowan’s seat and presented him with her printed question. She was quickly surrounded by security before being escorted out.
The woman separately told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that after security guards tried to get her to exit the chamber, she shot back to her chair to make sure she had not left anything. It was only at that point that she consented to leave the room.
The incident has raised some concerns about security measures given the relative ease with which she was able to approach Cllr Cowan.
Cllr Jose Afonso, Leader of the Conservative opposition, said the group will be writing to the local authority’s Chief Executive asking for a review of security arrangements.
He said, “The incident at Full Council raises serious concerns about the security measures in place. While in this case the lady ultimately proved to be harmless this was not apparent at the time, causing great distress to a number of those present.
“Irrespective of this she was freely allowed to approach elected administration politicians with ease. It begs the question of what might have happened if someone of more malign intent attempted to disrupt proceedings or cause harm to those present. It should be noted that in addition to serving councillors there were council officials and members of the public present.
“We will be formally writing to the CEO asking for a review of security arrangements, and for action to be taken to make future council meetings secure.”
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said: “We are reviewing our security measures for public meetings in light of the incident at the Full Council meeting of October 22.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter