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Reform councillor threatens to report café owner who fed kids for free to police
Aug 4, 2026
James O'Brien is joined by Barry Ashley, owner of the Grumpy Cook café in Hastings, who was threatened by Reform council chief Andy Woolley.
Mr Ashley and Labour MP Helena Dollimore have been told by the East Sussex County Council chief that he plans to contact police after they named him in criticism when school holiday meal vouchers were stopped.
Mr Woolley alleges to have been personally attacked online and accused the pair of inciting hate by naming him in their criticism.
*Please note this story refers to East Sussex County Council, not Hastings Council as written in the onscreen topic box.
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0:00
Barry Ashley runs the Grumpy Cook Cafe in Hastings
0:05
and has taken it upon himself to feed the children of struggling families over the school holidays
0:13
despite the fact that the local council had elected to withdraw the voucher scheme
0:19
that would previously have subsidised the serving up of free meals to hungry children
0:26
I think I've got the facts right, but happily I can check, because Barry Ashley from the Grumpy Cook Cafe in Hastings joins me now
0:35
Barry, I've not seen your face before, mate, and I am similarly cursed with a resting, grumpy face
0:43
Would I be right in thinking that the cafe is named after you? It is, yes
0:48
Yes, we have a similar sort of facial curse, I think. But here we are, both smiling
0:54
So, have I got the facts right? Is that pretty much how things unfolded, how you found yourself
0:59
What is shocking is the response from the head of the council, Andy Woolley
1:07
Yes, it all started, it's not the local council's Hastings Borough, but this is East Sussex County
1:15
Right. And I picked up on it from when the MP Helena Dolimore
1:22
spoke out on Facebook. And I've always done this for the last five years
1:29
So when Marcus Rashford and Tom Kerridge started doing some good things during lockdown
1:36
I did my own thing then, and I've continued it since. So I've always offered free breakfast cereal for children in the mornings
1:47
that can just come in and help themselves. so when I saw what Helena had to say
1:53
about what East Sussex had done I threw all my toys out of the pram
2:00
and I got rather annoyed and foolishly I went to Facebook did a video and said right
2:09
I'm just going to feed all the children just come to the cafe
2:13
lunch is free Now but before I done that I already introduced a scheme for this summer about it like a pay it forward scheme where people can pay it forward for a family of four
2:31
to take a picnic to the coast or to the park. So again, if they're struggling, because we found out so many children
2:39
have never been to the beach in a coastal town. Really? Yeah, it's just incredible
2:44
um so um so we were doing that and i thought well you know what the hell let's just make it free
2:51
all round so they can eat for free in the cafe or they can go to the website and choose a family box
2:58
and that will be ready for them to collect the next day so i mean your anger chiefly was about
3:03
the fact that the vouchers were being taken away yeah it was being taken away but also in the new
3:09
document it actually said that the council must ensure um that the poorest children are not going
3:17
hungry during during the school holidays and but you knew that they were and that they were more
3:24
likely to or much more likely to do so in the absence of this voucher scheme yeah well i thought
3:29
they would be but they're not because of you um no no i they they have said that you know they've
3:38
got all these schemes running but none of they're not actually making sure that the poorest children
3:45
are being fed so this is where things get very odd isn't it because you and indeed the um the
3:52
local mp helena dollamore you you you recorded your unhappiness about these decisions and you
3:57
i think inevitably because it would be quite hard to do it without doing so um you directed some of
4:04
your unhappiness at the council chief, at Andy Woolley, and it's what happens
4:08
next that I think is going to shock my listeners most. So how did he respond to this
4:12
robust but entirely legitimate criticism? Well, worst of all, he interrupted me. I was just about to settle down
4:20
to watch the Grand Prix last Sunday. Outrageous. Yeah, and I got a text
4:24
I got a WhatsApp message from him saying that I was inciting hatred
4:29
because I had named him personally. You know, The person that leads the council, the public official, I'd actually named him personally
4:40
So that was inciting hatred and he was reporting me to the police Just for naming him you didn call him a moron or anything like that
4:50
No. Just literally, the council chief is this person and this is his name
4:57
And all I was asking for was what are they doing in regards of Section 44 in the Crisis and Resilience Act
5:06
And he names everything except what they're doing there. and then Ms. Dollymore got an email
5:12
I don't know if I've read yours but he wrote your continued naming of me personally
5:16
has led to an increase in online abuse of me personally and has now reached a point where you could be responsible
5:22
for inciting hate and potential violence against me a political official and members of my family
5:27
you of all people should be aware of the increased sensitivity of these sorts of posts
5:32
and then he references the tragic death of Anne Whittacombe which we can't talk about in further detail
5:39
because of the live case. So because, I mean, he mentioned, I mean, I don't
5:43
I knew Anne Whittacombe vaguely. I'm not sure she would necessarily approve of her name being used
5:47
in an attempt to close down the naming of an elected or of a senior politician, a Reform UK politician
5:56
As such, I shall be reporting you both to the police and to the Parliamentary Standards Committee
6:02
I mean, these are, of course, Nigel Farage's colleagues, they are the great upholders of free speech, they tell us
6:09
in this country, and what he's objecting to is you telling people his name
6:14
Yes. And I got the same email as Helena got. I thought you did. It's just that he wasn't
6:21
reporting me to the Speaker of the House. So she gets reported to the
6:25
Speaker of the House, you just get reported to the old Bill. Yeah. And then I
6:31
wasn't going to... I was just going to ignore it. I thought, I'm not going to
6:35
make a scene of it. I thought, shall I contact Helena? And I didn't
6:41
Right. But during the time I was having that thought, Helena contacted me because she was concerned that, you know
6:48
I'd be worried about this action that he was taking. So, yeah
6:52
And she reassured you, I imagine, that the fellow didn't have a leg to stand on
6:57
She did. And here we are. Have you heard, I don't know if Eleanor spoke to you before you came on
7:03
what Councillor Woolley told us when we got in touch with him earlier today No go on He told us that he not reported you to the police or Miss Dolomort to the police and that no should face a police report
7:14
for criticising a council decision. He also said that Mr Ashley's Cafe is doing a good thing by feeding children
7:19
It's almost like the media still has some power in this country, Barry, isn't it? He said his contact with Sussex Police
7:24
was through a specific route to support elected members who receive threats and abuse
7:28
which no-one is suggesting. you or Helena D'Olymore had issued towards him
7:33
or who had directed at him. But he says that he and his family have faced abuse in recent weeks
7:39
He made clear that he does not hold you or Ms. D'Olymore responsible for the abuse
7:43
even though, well, we read that thing that he sent to you, and said no child in East Sussex should go hungry this summer
7:50
So there we go. Game over. Well, next time, James, I'll just call you and Helena
7:59
and I'll see if you can get some answer for it. Well, there we go. It's just ridiculous
8:03
There was one wonderful bit that you did, because I thought, actually, that I was the only person left in England
8:09
who uses this phrase. Do you know what I'm talking about? I know what you're talking about, yeah
8:16
And I will own up. I got it from you. Did you? Oh, this is terrible news
8:21
because that means I might still be the only person in the finally, Councillor Woolley
8:25
should you go for re-election into office again. I hope voters wrap your sandwiches and those of your party in a road map
8:37
If people want to support what you're doing down in Hastings, how do they find out more
8:42
How do they get in touch, Barry? Go to our website, grumpycook.co.uk
8:47
and once they hit on the landing page, it will take them there
8:51
And all the response has been incredible. Absolutely incredible. It's come from all around the country
9:02
all from pages that I follow on social media who I thought would never ever hear of me in a lifetime
9:11
And I'm getting donations from abroad as well. So it's quite incredible that when you choose to starve children
9:20
that people get rather upset. They do. And then attack the people who are trying to feed them
9:25
Barry, it's been a pleasure. Let's hope that no one ever wraps your sandwiches in a roadmap, mate
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