Members of the public and press have been barred from attending the Kensington and Chelsea Council Cabinet meeting in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire .

The meeting, which is being chaired by under-fire council leader Nick Paget-Brown, will be held in private session amid the risk of disruption and security and public safety concerns.

The meeting, the first since the disaster on June 14 which has claimed at least 80 lives, will take place at Kensington Town Hall on Thursday (June 29) at 6.30pm.

The notice on the Cabinet agenda front page

The only issue listed on the agenda, after apologies of absence and declarations of interest, is ‘Grenfell Tower fire’ - there is no written report.

The decision to hold the meeting behind closed doors, with members of the press including getwestlondon also barred from attending, was taken partly because of the storming of the town hall (see video above), in Hornton Street, in the days after the Grenfell Tower fire .

getwestlondon asked the council via email at 11.14am on Thursday if a reporter could attend the important meeting, which those affected by the disaster will be desperate to witness, but has received no response.

When pressed via telephone, a spokesman for the council told getwestlondon that "content will be available" for media outlets, but did not specify what this would be or when it would be received.

Protesters demonstrate outside Kensington Town Hall on June 16

In an email to the council, getwestlondon requested attendance at the meeting and said: "We believe that:

  • A blanket ban on attendance is inappropriate, especially considering the nature of this incident
  • There is no risk to a reporter disrupting proceedings of the meeting, press simply observe and report
  • Our attendance and reporting of the meeting is a proportionate approach which combines the public's entitlement to know what was discussed by the council in the interests of transparency with managing any fear of disruption
  • It is appropriate for this meeting to be reported contemporaneously and not potentially days or weeks later, when minutes are made available on the council's website."

Announcing the closed-doors meeting, a message on the online version of the Cabinet agenda reads: “Please note this meeting will be held entirely in private session, pursuant to Standing Order 31.01*, in the light of the risk of disruption (as witnessed on Friday 16 June) and consequent security and public safety concerns.

“As such it will be open only to Council Members, support officers and invited guests (if any). The public minutes of this meeting will be published, in due course, on the Council website.

Under-fire: Council leader Nick Paget-Brown on the steps of the town hall

“Under common law and statute, the chairman of a meeting has the power to exclude the public if he or she is of the opinion that there shall be a disruption to the business. It is also lawful to exclude the public before a meeting if there are grounds upon which to anticipate a disruption of the proceedings.”

Under point 31 of the Rules of Procedure Standing Order, available to read in full here , it says that the chairman of a meeting has the power to exclude the public if he or she is of the opinion that there shall be a disruption to proceedings. There is no mention of banning press.

getwestlondon is working to find out what this means, has asked the council to clarify this point and will update readers as soon as possible.

When asked how long it usually takes for minutes to appear on the council's website, a spokesman said they could not confirm a time frame.

On June 29 2016, demonstrators entered the town hall’s debating chamber (see video below) during a full council meeting in protest at the administration’s plans to lease North Kensington Library to a private school .

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Among those who occupied the chamber, which halted proceedings for around 30 minutes, was Edward Daffarn from Grenfell Action Group, the residents group whose fire safety fears fell on deaf ears.

The next ordinary meeting of the Cabinet will be held on September 21 2017.

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