The leader of Kent County Council (KCC) was accused of misusing County Hall and wasting public money in staging what opponents described as “a hate rally”.
The event in Maidstone last night (August 26) was put on to discuss violence against women and girls.
However, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors boycotted it because of the presence of the Women’s Safety Initiative (WSI), which has claimed a direct link between immigration and sexual violence.
Meanwhile, a group of Green Party members and trans rights activists protested outside.
The Conservatives’ group leader Cllr Harry Rayner and Weald of Kent MP Katie Lam did attend, as did KCC’s outgoing chief executive Amanda Beer.
Later, KCC’s Reform UK leader, Cllr Linden Kemkaran, said: “The opposition parties do not like to have their world view challenged and if anyone dares to put forward different points of view they tend not to be able to cope.
“For many years they have had their own way and been able to call me racist, bigoted or Islamophobic. That won’t work any more, I’m afraid.”
She said the meeting was open to all parties in County Hall and the bill was picked up by the chairman’s personal fund.
The event featured a wide range of speakers, including a lengthy section on prevention of violence as well as other areas such as safety in public spaces and spiking.
Outside County Hall, Tonbridge member Cllr Mark Hood (Green) said: “We are calling into question using the building for what is a hate rally. It’s just a bogus event.”
In a press release, he said: “Reform UK don’t give a monkey’s about protecting women, they just want to scapegoat refugees for a really serious problem.”
Sarah Fox, a Kent-based adviser on domestic violence, earlier warned that the main perpetrators of violence are in the home.
She said that WSI is a “dangerous group” that uses “false statistics” to scapegoat and demonise vulnerable minorities.
The WSI speakers Jess Gill and Charlotte Whitney-Brown received a standing ovation from some of the audience in the lecture theatre after speeches linking immigration to sexual violence.
Ms Whitney-Brown warned that the UK is “importing cultures where women are not valued” through the asylum system.
She asked: “Do we want un-vetted men on our streets?”
The WSI speeches drew a standing ovation from the predominantly Reform UK audience.
There were moments of tension when audience members who questioned facts around some of the claims were jeered. Sarah Green of the Labour Women’s Group walked out after about an hour.
Meanwhile, MP Kate Lam told the meeting: “Foreign nationals are disproportionally represented in these crimes compared to their share of the population.”
Liberal Democrat KCC opposition leader Antony Hook said he did not attend because he felt uncomfortable that the event was being used as a “political platform”.
He added: “The place for debate is in the chamber.”
