Police are investigating after paint and a paint tin was thrown at protesters outside Hull Guildhall
Purple paint thrown at Stand Up To Racism protesters outside Hull City Council’s Guildhall(Image: LDR)
Police are investigating after paint was thrown at protesters outside Hull Guildhall. The protesters were outside the building before Hull City Council’s first full council meeting since local elections.
Purple paint and the tin was thrown at protesters, allegedly by a man on a bike, at approximately 9:50am. A Humberside Police spokesperson has confirmed the incident was reported to it shortly afterwards.
“We received reports of paint being thrown during a protest on Gelder Street in Hull at around 10.15am yesterday morning (Thursday, 21 May 2026). Enquiries are ongoing to identify those involved and we encourage anyone who has any information, CCTV or dashcam footage from around the area which may assist in our investigation, you are urged to contact us on our non-emergency number 101 quoting Log 144 of 21 May.”
The LDRS saw the aftermath of the incident. Paint was on much of the floor outside the Guildhall, on protesters’ literature, and had landed on protesters, with one female protester particularly impacted.
The protest was by Hull and East Yorkshire Stand Up to Racism group. “An individual came by the protest earlier who was very aggressive,” a spokesperson for the group said, objecting to the fact that they were protesting against Reform.
The spokesperson emphasised it’s a tradition of democracy to be able to peacefully protest outside council meetings. “We actually had councillors who thanked us as they went in. To then be attacked like that was quite shocking. This was an attempt to intimidate, to scare, to frighten,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said it would be fair to say the protesters’ main reaction was shock and a determination to not be intimidated. “There was nothing intimidating about our actions,” they added.
Cllr Hester Bridges (Independent – Southcoates) witnessed the behaviour. “He came along and was really aggressive right from the off,” she said.
“It seems as if it was particularly aggressive towards the women.” Cllr Bridges said an attempt was made to have a discussion with him, but “he just kept getting really aggressive”.
Cllr Bridges said the man “wanted to impose his views in a very aggressive way.” She emphasised it was a peaceful protest. “There was no chanting or anything, it was just a silent, quiet protest.”
She said she found the level of aggression “disturbing” and expressed the view that this kind of behaviour had become more common in the past year. “People have got different views, people are entitled to different views,” she said, but it was the level of aggression and trying to impose on people that was disturbing.
By midday on May 21, paint on the floor had been cleaned off. The Hull and East Yorkshire Stand Up To Racism spokesperson detailed why the protesters turned out. Shortly before 10am, there were a dozen or so outside the Guildhall.
“Today was a peaceful protest by Hull and East Yorkshire Stand Up To Racism because of our concerns about the growth of Reform UK and the election of their first councillors in Hull.”
The spokesperson highlighted Hull is a sanctuary city, a local area pledged to welcome asylum seekers and refugees. He said the main message the group hoped to get across by protesting outside the Guildhall before full council “is that we are concerned about impact that Reform’s policies can have on our communities”.
During his leader’s address in the full council meeting, Reform’s group leader in Hull, Cllr Richard Kelly (Southcoates) made clear his rejection of racism claims against the party. “We have taken lots of criticism over our campaign, being called racist, fascists, far-right. None of the above is true.”
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