A councillor has denied recording the confidential part of some Cheshire East meetings despite there being an audio recording of him telling Middlewich Town Council he has.

The minutes of a Middlewich Town Council (MTC) meeting held in October state Cllr Garnet Marshall (Ind) told MTC he has recorded 'part two' sessions of Cheshire East meetings in the past.

'Part two' is when councils exclude the press and public to discuss confidential or exempt information that cannot be discussed in public, such as personnel matters, legal issues, or sensitive financial information.

The minutes of the MTC meeting on October 8, 2025, state that, when the town council clerk refused to allow Cllr Marshall to record a part two item at that meeting and asked him a question, 'Cllr Marshall confirmed that he records part two of council meetings at Cheshire East Council for accuracy'.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) contacted Cllr Marshall, who represents Middlewich on Cheshire East, for a comment regarding the statement in the MTC minutes.

Cllr Garnet Marshall (Ind). (Photo: Cheshire East Council)

Cllr Marshall emailed in response saying: "Sounds like mis-information to me, I have never ever recorded Part Two Sessions at Cheshire east." (sic)

In total, when the LDRS sought further clarification, the Middlewich councillor responded three times, by email, saying he had never recorded part two sessions of Cheshire East meetings.

MTC has confirmed its minutes of the October 8 meeting are accurate and the LDRS has heard a short excerpt of the recording in which Cllr Marshall can be heard saying he wants to record that particular part of the MTC meeting 'in order to retain accuracy of what was said'.

He says, in it, he will not make any part of the recording public.

The clerk, Safia Kauser, then asks: "Do you record part two meetings at Cheshire East Council?"

Cllr Marshall replies: "Yes."

The clerk asks: "You do?"

Cllr Marshall replies: "Only for accuracy."

The LDRS contacted Cllr Marshall again, explaining there was an audio recording of him saying he had recorded Cheshire East part two meetings and asking for a comment.

He emailed back saying: "Once again for the avoidance of doubt I have never nor will ever record meetings MTC or CEC."

Cheshire East Council, like others, has strict rules about part two meetings.

Part two papers can only be accessed by committee members and, if paper copies are handed out at a meeting, they are counted back in – councillors are not allowed to remove them from the room.

A Cheshire East Council spokesperson said: "We would encourage members who wished to make a recording of a discussion for their own record, to inform the other participants, however, there is no law preventing the recording [of] a conversation for personal use, provided that the recording is not shared, sold or released to the public without permission."

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