Squirrels vs security: Did Knowsley Council attempt to discredit a protestor in a onesie?

After a boring budget meeting devolved into pandemonium, we tried to squirrel our way to the truth

Dear readers — what started out as a typically dull council meeting to discuss Knowsley Council’s budget ended with a woman dressed as a squirrel and her sister claiming they had been assaulted by a security guard.

The Save Whiston Woods campaign — with protestors who frequently turn up to council meetings in their elaborate costumes — has long been a thorn in Knowsley Council’s side. The group is battling to prevent the council extending a graveyard into much-loved woodland due to an apparent lack of burial space. 

But last Wednesday, things went up a gear. After police received a call that one of the protestors had been assaulted — and that the alleged perpetrator was a security guard employed by a private company on behalf of the council — Huyton Municipal Building became a scene of pandemonium. Soon, a police investigation was underway.

Police have since confirmed to The Post that while the investigation is still underway, no arrests have been made. Save Whiston Woods campaigners are now arguing that the council’s decision to publicly release CCTV footage of the events could jeopardise the police’s investigation. Moreover, they’ve claimed the council has been sending misleading and inaccurate statements to the press.

We’ve been digging into this one over the past week in an attempt to answer the question on everyone’s (at least in Knowsley, if not the world) lips. Did the council attempt to discredit a woman in a onesie?

That’s the bizarre (or nuts!) topic of today’s edition, as we make our way to the kernel of the truth. But do you know what would be even more nuts? Missing out on eight extra monthly editions of The Post for just £1.25 a week (barely enough for a small bag of cashews from M&S). Signing up today will not only allow you to read the entirety of today’s edition — apologies to non-members, it’s paywalled halfway down — but you’ll also be paying to support the continuation of nuanced, long-form journalism in Merseyside, at a time when local journalism is dying on its feet. Thanks as ever for reading.

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Squirrels vs security: Did Knowsley Council attempt to discredit a protestor in a onesie?

By Lisa Rand

In the red corner: a woman dressed as a squirrel, clutching a clown horn. In the blue corner: a security guard working on behalf of Knowsley Council. This was municipal politics at its most volatile.

Last Wednesday, a woman in a squirrel onesie entered the car park of Huyton Municipal Building. Alongside her, another woman wearing a luminous vest and holding a small megaphone. Positioning themselves directly below the first floor council chamber as Knowsley’s annual budget meeting got underway, they tooted the horn and spoke into the megaphone, accusing the council members of attempting to destroy a beloved green space.

And then things went south. By the end of the night, police had arrived outside the building and a security guard hired to work on behalf of the council was being accused of assault. To be clear, the police have told us that no arrests have been made, but their investigation remains live. CCTV shows an altercation between the protestors and security guard. Today, The Post attempts to get to the kernel of the truth. 

The protestors being approached in the car park of Huyton Municipal Building by a security guard. Credit: Knowsley Council.

Inside the meeting, serious discussions were underway regarding local finances; would council tax be hiked by 5%? But as that played out, the sounds of the tooting horns drifted up into the chamber, at one point appearing to confuse a council member who looked quizzically at their chair as the clown horn squeaked.

The women had turned up — not for the first time — to voice their opposition to the local authority’s plans to turn part of a local woodland into a cemetery. Also not for the first time, they’d brought the onesie.

The plans were first made public in 2022. Knowsley Council agreed to set aside a hefty £2.6m to buy Whiston Woods from the Forestry Commision and convert part of it into a cemetery.

There was a long road ahead, not least because the land was in neighbouring St Helens and Knowsley would have to get planning permission. But they committed to pushing on past such obstacles because the woods were sorely needed — Knowsley would soon run out of burial space if they didn’t act.

Whiston Woods. Credit: Save Whiston Woods.

Many local residents were aghast. Their much-loved woodland turned into graves? Was there nowhere else that could be used instead? It wasn’t long before a campaign group was formed, Save Whiston Woods, in a bid to challenge the proposals. They have a prominent social media presence, often prompting the council’s own ‘Knowsley News’ communications website to post articles countering supposed “inaccurate information”. Meanwhile, the plans for graveyard space are being pushed forward and a planning application is being prepared.

It was against this backdrop that two of the members of Save Whiston Woods made their way to Huyton Municipal Building last Wednesday evening. It’s probably fair to say that no-one had quite expected pandemonium to break out. 

Yet it did. By the time people in attendance made their way downstairs after the budget meeting had finished, they were greeted with quite a scene — police officers, bystanders, council officers, a group of youths and of course the protestors. 

At around 6.20pm that evening, Merseyside Police had received a call. On the other end of the line someone was making allegations that one of the protestors had been assaulted by a security guard. Merseyside Police said they were looking for a man who had left the scene on a black Yamaha motorbike.