We've been listening to residents concerns regarding the behaviour of Kingdom enforcement officers operating in Sutton.
Conservative councillors requested these concerns to be heard as an urgent item at Thursday's committee meeting. The Lib Dem Chair shut down any request to discuss the pressing issues that have been highlighted by residents.
Cllr McDermott-Hill was prevented from making a statement in reply to the Lib Dem Chair's refusal; this is the statement the Lib Dems didn't want you to hear:
"Many councillors in the Conservative group have been approached by a cross section of Sutton's residents concerning what they believe to be aggressive and intimidatory tactics employed by Kingdom enforcement officers acting on behalf of the Council. These have included aggressive behaviour, false allegations, asking to search resident's bags and other such behaviour that we would not want to be associated with this Council.
"In order to get to the bottom of this, I believe a cross-party group of councillors should be formed as a Task and Finish Group to undertake a full investigation of these concerning allegations so as to restore confidence amongst Sutton's residents that they can go about their everyday lives without fear of being unnecessarily accosted or harassed.
"As the Conservative opposition we want to work with the Council to ensure that this contractual arrangement with Kingdom works for everyone and is properly and sensitively carried out, and I would like the Chair's agreement that this issue is one that has to be resolved swiftly, without delay."
Whilst the Conservative group were surprised and disappointed that this was the Lib Dem's position, we will continue to ensure that Kingdom enforcement officers are held to account regarding their behaviour and tactics when engaging with residents.