About three weeks ago Councillor Carmen Appich, chairwoman of the city's Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee, appealed for people to stay away from Brighton and Hove, in order to protect the city's residents.

She said that we do not want to go back to square one and find ourselves having to face more stringent and longer-term lockdown measures if coronavirus cases go up. Obviously no-one would want to see that happen so what she stated at that time was, in my view, an appropriate position for the Council to take.

However, in a case of 'That was then, this is now' Ms Appich, having apparently forgotten all she said about 'protecting the city's residents', voiced the council's backing for the Black Lives Matter protest that was planned to take place in Brighton the following day, saying that it supported the demonstration and called for it to be "peaceful and safe".

So, and with official backing on their side, ten thousand people crammed on to the eight acres that comprise The Level in Brighton, jowl by jowl, side by side, seemingly without any thoughts whatsoever of 'protecting the city's residents', and clearly without any concerns about 'more stringent and longer-term lockdown measures if coronavirus cases go up'.

It really is 'make your mind up time' for Ms Appich and her colleagues; either you don't want people to come to Brighton - "KEEP AWAY" - or you do - "COME AND PROTEST" because you cannot, as they say, have your cake and eat it.

Eric Waters

Lancing