Councillors at Swale Borough Council were threatened and pelted with eggs by balaclava wearing protesters from the public gallery as they debated whether to recognise the area as a place of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers.

Protestors also vandalised the Kent local authority’s premises, damaging a lift and flooding toilets, which led to its offices being closed.

Police are now investigating the incident that took place on Wednesday evening, including examining CCTV footage.

The motion had called for the council to be a place where refugees and asylum seekers ‘are welcomed, supported, and valued as members of our community’.

The council has confirmed its offices had to be closed due to ‘damage caused by members of the public during the full council meeting’ this week.

It added that the deliberate flooding of the toilets ‘caused water to pour through the ceiling in several areas, and a lift was also damaged’.

‘We are currently assessing the damage and are working to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so,’ it added.

It also confirmed that a meeting of its Sittingbourne Area Committee that was due to take place the next day was held remotely.

The no overall control council, which is led by Labour Party, Green Party and independent councillors, added that it ‘will be supportive of any prosecutions’ the police pursue.

Kevin McKenna, Labour’s MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, raised his concerns about the incident in the House of Commons on Thursday.

‘This is an attack on democracy itself, it is an attack on free speech, and it is an attack on my constituents’, he told MPs.

‘Our democracy is based on the ability to disagree with each other strongly but never violently’, he added.

Leader of the House of Commons, Alan Campbell MP, also condemned the protesters’ actions, adding ‘let me be very clear: anyone involved in public life should not be subject to harassment or intimidation for doing their job’.