Woman Given Six Month Ban from Council Offices
Una-Jane Winfield ran towards leader at end of public meeting
Una-Jane Winfield. Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
December 18, 2025
A woman who was escorted out of a Hammersmith and Fulham meeting after running towards the Council Leader has been banned from the local authority’s premises for a minimum of six months.
Una-Jane Winfield, who in October ran at Hammersmith and Fulham Council Leader Stephen Cowan in an effort to present a question, has since received a letter detailing her “inappropriate behaviour”. The letter claims that, as well as her interaction with Cllr Cowan, this included her entering a restricted meeting space without permission, refusing to leave, becoming aggressive and resisting security.
As such, Ms Winfield is excluded from all council premises “until further notice”, with a review to take place in June 2026. She is able to visit the council for services associated with her being a resident by pre-arranged appointment. Ms Winfield has said that unless the council withdraws the ban she will appeal.
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said Ms Winfield can still submit questions to Full Council to which she will receive a written response.
As previously covered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), at October’s Full Council meeting Ms Winfield had hoped to pose a question to Cllr Cowan but she did not submit it in time.
Her intention was to ask how the local authority is going to implement April’s Supreme Court ruling in which it found ‘sex’ refers to a person’s biological sex under the Equality Act. She said she was unaware of the deadline and so her question was not included on the evening’s agenda.
Despite this she 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.
A commotion could be heard before the end of the allocated speaking time, before Ms Winfield dashed to Cllr Cowan’s seat to present him with a print-out of her question. She was quickly surrounded by security before being escorted out.
The incident raised security concerns given the ease with which Ms Winfield appeared to be able to approach Cllr Cowan.
Cllr Jose Afonso, Leader of the Conservative opposition, said that while Ms Winfield was “harmless” this was “not apparent at the time, causing great distress to a number of those present”.
In the letter issued to Ms Winfield informing her of her ban, it is stated that following the council meeting, “it has been reported that you entered a restricted meeting space without permission, refused to leave, became aggressive when asked to leave, refused to follow the direction of officers and security, resisted security, and ultimately made your way to the front of the room to accost the Leader of the Council. This has been deemed as inappropriate behaviour.”
Ms Winfield said unless the council withdraws the ban she will be looking to appeal. She said she is “no threat at all to the council”, and referred to Cllr Afonso’s previous comment describing her as “harmless”.
Ms Winfield also said she believed the ban was due to the topic of her question she was wanting to pose to the council, adding, “Shutting women out will never work. We come back again and again and again. We are right. They are wrong.”
A spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham Council said, “Ms Winfield can still submit questions at Full Council and has already done so for the next meeting in January 2026. Ms Winfield will receive a written response and it will be published with the minutes from the meeting as per usual.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter