Reform council leader threatens to report cafe owner to police after feeding children for free

A Reform UK council leader has threatened to report a cafe owner to the police after feeding children for free.

Barry Ashley, owner of the Grumpy Cook in Hastings, claims to more than 70 free meals a day, handing a lifeline to families during the summer holidays.

Those "in need" are not even required to prove they are in poverty or on benefits because Mr Ashley "doesn't like the stigma that goes with that".

He made the move after Reform's East Sussex County Council "shamelessly" chose to stop handing out school holiday meal vouchers to those in need over July and August.

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His cries against the council echo those of Labour MP Helena Dollimore, who has also kickstarted a campaign to reinstate the free meals after the authority scrapped the initiative.

"Hastings is one of the poorest towns in the country. And it is by every measure it's a deprived town. One in three of the children are living in poverty," Mr Ashley told The Mirror.

"And the vouchers, just to take those away without considering what they should be putting in place, without doing any risk assessment, without doing any impact assessment, it's beyond bizarre."

Penning a series of messages attacking Cllr Woolley by name, Mr Ashley wrote: "East Sussex County Council have obviously used their discretion and decided the kids can starve. They are shameless.

"Hastings is the 14th poorest town in the country and one in three children are living in poverty. If you cannot serve the most vulnerable in our area then of what use are you? Councillor Woolley your move."

Cllr Andy Woolley, who is named in their campaign, is said to have threatened to report both the cafe owner and the local Labour MP for inciting violence.

But, following the slew of Facebook posts singling out the council leader, Mr Ashley said that "free speech advocates don't like speech".

In correspondence to Ms Dollimore, Cllr Woolley stressed the decision to ditch the vouchers was a collective decision - and corrected the campaign, assuring them that the authority was handing out to support for those in need.

Cllr Woolley wrote: "Your continued naming of me personally has led to an increase in online abuse of me personally and has now reached a point where you could be responsible for inciting hate and potential violence against me, a political official, and members of my family.

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"You of all people should be aware of the increased sensitivity of these sorts of posts since the sad murder of Ann Widdecombe.

"As such I shall be reporting you both to the police and to the Parliamentary Standards Committee."

The 32-year-old MP, who won the seat of Hastings & Rye in Labour's 2024 landslide, said that plenty of locals were "concerned" about the move.

She said: "Politicians and members of the public should be free to comment on and criticise decisions made by their opponents.

"I know that Reform UK includes ‘defence of free speech’ as amongst its policies."

Reform UK repeatedly has campaigned in favour of defending free speech.

Since the murder of Ms Widdecombe, the party's spokeswoman for justice, senior Reform figures have raised the alarm to discuss how political figures are targeted in attacks - online or otherwise.

The councillor warned that "legitimate political debate" could be crossing into conduct that could put specific individuals "at risk".

He said he was subjected to a series of abusive messages, emails, threats and graphic online content "targeting him personally".

"I am not suggesting that Helena Dollimore created those threats or abusive material," he clarified.

He continued: "However, when public figures repeatedly personalise a collective decision and present it in a way that fuels hostility towards an individual, they should recognise the foreseeable consequences of doing so.

"Whether any individual communication crosses the criminal threshold is a matter for the Police. Political disagreement is entirely legitimate.

"Targeting individuals in a way that contributes to intimidation, threats and abuse is not. Everyone in public life, regardless of political party, should be able to carry out their duties without fearing for their own safety or the safety of their family."

GB News has approached Ms Dollimore and Cllr Woolley for further comment.

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