‘Can’t we get him shot’ - Audience laughed at horrific comment about council member made at Walsall public meeting

The comment was made at a meeting at Darlaston Town Hall called by opponents of the contentious Darlaston Town Board and to which board members had been invited.

None turned up, though 74 members of the public did in order to discuss the make-up of the board and how a pot of government cash allocated to the town should be spent.

Members of the Darlaston town board have criticised the local councillor who chaired the meeting held last weekend.

At the meeting Councillor Paul Bott, who hosted, referred to a fellow councillor in Walsall before a member of the audience quipped ‘can’t we get him shot?’

The comment was met with laughter from the audience.

Two members of the decision making board have criticised Councillor Paul Bott for allowing such comments to be made at his meeting.

But Councillor Bott said he ‘did not hear’ any comments relating to shooting or violence. He said the event was ‘positive and peaceful’ and all 74 attendees had an opportunity to speak.

In 2023, Darlaston was selected as one of 55 towns across the UK to receive £20m government funding as part of the Plan for Neighbourhoods programme.

A board to decide how the money will be spent was established in October 2025.

However, the set up of the board has come under fierce scrutiny by the public and ward members for Darlaston South, Councillor Paul and Chris Bott, husband and wife.

The pair have continually argued that the board should be community-led but they say residents have been ‘sidelined’ instead.

The pair set up a meeting on Saturday (November 22) in Darlaston Town Hall, and invited members of the board to address residents about their concerns. Councillor Chris Bott was not present at the meeting.

Board member Roland Roberts, who runs a paralegal practice in Darlaston called the Cardinal Partnership, said Councillor Paul Bott should have called out the distasteful comment.

He said: “Councillor Bott is a representative from the council. I pay his wages, just like everybody else does. He has a responsibility to act in a decent way by calling that behaviour out and he didn’t.

“Nobody objects to people objecting to things. But you have to have a dialogue.”

Another board member, Adrian Walker, said he planned to go to the meeting but was discouraged by fellow board members.

Mr Walker said: “I was told that all the chairs were laid out for us. It was a big pantomime.”

“After hearing some of the stuff that was getting said, and how many people were jeering, I would have feared for my safety at that meeting. I don’t get how they say we were welcome.”

He added he was glad he didn’t go after hearing the ‘can’t we get him shot’ comment.

Speaking to the LDRS, Councillor Paul Bott said: “I never heard anyone say that. Nobody in that meeting said anything about violence.

“The meeting was well attended, it was peaceful and everyone had the opportunity to speak. There was no issue with the meeting itself and it was positive.

“If somebody was recording the meeting then it was underhanded because the meeting was open to anybody. It was a public meeting.”

Mr Walker co-owns the Scabby Oss Cafe on King Street and said he and his shop have become a target since joining the board.

He has reported eggs and bricks thrown at the cafe window and ‘thugs’ coming into the shop trying to goad him into a fight while another films.

The dad-of-seven says he ‘hasn’t had a day off’ in four weeks because he fears for the staff being at the cafe without him.

Mr Walker said he was approached at another Darlaston town board meeting hosted by MP Pat McFadden in early November.

He said the person was ‘practically foaming at the mouth’ with anger with ‘minders either side’, making Mr Walker feel uncomfortable enough to move seats.

He said: “My business is much more public facing, so I get a lot more abuse. I’m collateral damage to dismantle the board because if I quit, another one will quit out of fear and then others.

“We shouldn’t be afraid to walk in public. Another member was booed out in front of the library at one meeting to the point where I insisted I’ll walk down with them next time.

“None of us should have crowds of people booing and hurling abuse.”

Both Mr Walker and Mr Roberts said they were asked to join the board after expressing interest and undergoing a ‘stringent’ interview.

Mr Roberts said: “When they announced this money, I wanted to make sure that people got value for it because they haven’t in the past.

“In the early 90s, I understand there was a programme where some money was spent here, and that didn’t make a lasting impression.

“People on that board really want to make a difference and I was really surprised how difficult certain members of the community had been.

“On the board there are people who learn in Darlaston, people who work here, and there are people who have businesses here. We’ve got faith groups as well.

“If it’s resident-led, we end up arguing street by street over who gets what. So, a third of residents is about as much as we can justify.

“We’ve had hundreds of questionnaires received with lots of bright ideas. But we would have a lot more if there wasn’t this feeling of divided loyalties from those who are actively discouraging people from taking part in this process.

“We’re missing an opportunity in one of the most deprived areas in the West Midlands.

“Once the deadline is gone, the deadline’s gone, and we have to come up with the plan. And so this non-cooperation is not helping.

“So from our perspective, we’re genuinely trying to offer olive branches. There is no other message from us other than for the community to engage.”

On last Saturday’s meeting, Councillor Bott added: “This board is now trying to cause trouble by going to the press. Every member of that board was welcome to that meeting, that’s why the table and chairs were put out.

“They’re trying to cause trouble with 74 people. Not only will we have 74 in the Town Hall. I’ll put 700 in the Town Hall.

“I chaired the meeting, and everybody had the opportunity to speak about this board and they were very thoughtful and what they said is that it’s got to be a community-led board.

“There’s going to be petitions going out soon calling for the dismantling of the board and to put the community on it.

“If the community can’t lead on this board, and the strangers will spend the money for the Darlaston people, then it may as well go back. They don’t have any control of it now and they won’t if the board continues.”