Exeter councillor cleared after investigation into asylum hotel protest

An Exeter city councillor who was investigated after taking part in a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers has been cleared of any wrongdoing following an independent review by the council.

Cllr Alison Sheridan (Conservative, St Loyes) was referred to the council’s monitoring officer after being photographed wearing her official council lanyard while attending a protest near Exeter Airport earlier this year. The protest opposed the use of the hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.

After reviewing the case, the monitoring officer found no evidence of misconduct, and all complaints against Cllr Sheridan were dismissed.

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Cllr Sheridan told Exeter Today she was “vindicated on every single complaint” and described the allegations as politically motivated.

“With regard to the complaints against me, they were a politically motivated attack. The Leader of the Greens and Lib Dems complained about me despite not being at the protest themselves,” she said.

“Steve Race MP (also not there) called for an immediate apology and said that I had caused alarm and distress to women and children in the hotel. The hotel was about 150 yards from the protest and is positioned away from the road — side on.”

Continuing this, Cllr Sheridan added that: “It was found that no women and/or children were harassed by me. It was all made-up nonsense used to weaponize and attack me. Every single complaint was dismissed by an independent council investigation.”

“In these days of cancel culture, it is sad that such behaviour exists in our council. Several other councillors said that I was being bullied and that there was no other word for it,” she claimed.

“If there is disagreement the way forward is debate and decency. It can never be right to lie about people and gang up on them simply because you disagree. This was never about a lanyard — it was about cancel culture and bullying.”

Cllr Sheridan said she wore her lanyard to be “transparent and open” about her presence at the protest.

At the time, Cllr Diana Moore (Green, St Davids) criticised her actions, calling them “inflammatory” and likely to cause distress to residents at the hotel.

Police monitored the demonstration, which involved a small group of protesters carrying flags and placards. They were met by a larger counter-protest from Stand Up To Racism Exeter, whose members held signs reading “Refugees Welcome Here.”

Similar protests and counter-protests were held outside the hotel throughout August.

The monitoring officer’s findings close the investigation, but the case has highlighted growing political tensions around how Exeter’s elected representatives engage with public protests.