At least one person has been banned from Oldham Council meetings for 12 months with the potential for police action to come. 

UPDATE: One arrested after trouble at Oldham Council meetings, police confirm.

It comes after two successive meetings, one at the end of last month and one two weeks ago, descended into ill-controlled chaos.

At the first of these meetings, called in response to the publication of a Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) report on June 20, attendees including Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Chief Superintendent Chris Bowen were drowned out by protestations from the public.

And at the second of these meetings, a standard meeting which also contained the CSE report on its agenda, these protestations continued and escalated into what has been described as 'abuse', 'aggressive behaviour', 'disruptive behaviour' and even 'throwing missiles'.

According to a letter seen by The Oldham Times from the council's Community Safety team to an unknown individual, at least one person has been banned as a result.

The unknown individual's own behaviour is alleged to include 'accosting a member of the press', 'attempting to scale a safety barrier', 'causing a public nuisance', and 'making allegations against a staff member'.

It reads: "Due to your behaviour, it has been decided that with immediate effect, you are banned from attending all meetings and on the date of those meetings, from entering the public buildings in which they are being held. The ban will be for a period of 12 months."

In addition to the ban, the letter warns of the potential for civil action in the form of an application for an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction, as well as for police action.

It reads: "Your behaviour has been reported to Greater Manchester Police."

In a statement, a spokesperson stressed although the council is committed to allowing residents a role in the democratic process, there is a line that is not to be crossed.

They said: "We welcome and encourage the attendance of residents at public meetings.

"Resident engagement with the democratic process is essential, and we recognise that, sometimes, the nature of the issues we discuss will elicit a passionate response.

"However, all attendees at public meetings need to behave appropriately, to ensure meetings can be run fairly, safely and effectively. Unacceptable behaviour of any kind cannot be allowed to continue and will not be tolerated.

"Banning people from entering local authority premises, including the council chamber, is not a decision we take lightly. However, we have been forced to take this action against a small number of individuals to ensure the safety of elected members, staff, and members of the public."

Those banned from Oldham Council meetings have 14 days to appeal.

The Oldham Times asked Greater Manchester Police for a comment.