A move to exclude two York councillors from a debate about disabled people accessing the city centre - because they are disabled - sparked a storm of protest on social media and calls for an apology, it has emerged.

As reported by The Press online on Thursday evening, City of York Council reversed the decision the same evening.

Cllr Katie Lomas said City of York Council’s monitoring officer had advised her not to take part in the discussion because she is a blue badge holder and so would have a prejudicial interest. Cllr Ashley Mason was also told to excuse himself from the debate.

Cllr Lomas asked if the decision could be reversed, saying: “To prevent me from participating in the debate is to treat me differently directly because of a disability and this is discrimination.

“Would a woman be advised that she cannot take part in a debate on women’s rights? Would a person of colour be advised they could not take part in a debate on racism?”

The council has widely promoted consultations on changes to blue badge access - calling for the views of as many disabled people and campaign groups as possible. Yet two blue badge holders elected to the council were set to be excluded from a debate on the changes on Thursday night.

The decision was widely condemned on social media and by members of the public speaking at the meeting. And after a break midway through the meeting, the move was reversed by the Lord Mayor of York Cllr Chris Cullwick.

“During the adjournment I have taken the opportunity to consider the advice provided by the monitoring officer to councillors Mason and Lomas,” he said.

He said he would grant a dispensation to both councillors “on the basis that it is in the interests of the inhabitants of the council’s area to allow the members to take part in that item”.

Following the meeting there were calls for the council to apologise to the two councillors. The Press has asked if there will be an apology.

The two councillors had asked to take part in a discussion about the council’s controversial move to ban blue badge holders from driving on pedestrian streets in York city centre during the day.

Councillors were set to debate a motion calling for improvements to help all residents get into and around the city centre.

A York Disability Rights Forum spokesperson speaking at the meeting said they had been “inundated with people contacting us about city centre access with heartbreaking stories from those no longer able to reach the central post office or a bank or even to visit places they love such as City Screen cinema”.

Despite advising the councillors that they could not take part in the debate about access because they had blue badges and therefore a prejudicial interest, the monitoring officer did allow the council leader to take part in a vote of no confidence on himself in a meeting in May.

Council leader Keith Aspden was allowed to take part in the debate and vote against the calls for him to resign.

The no confidence vote was called after a critical public interest report was published which criticised the handling of the council’s £400,000 payout to the former chief executive and Cllr Aspden’s involvement in the decision.

The report raised concerns over a meeting to decide the payout, which was chaired by Cllr Aspden at a time when the former chief executive had lodged an employment tribunal claim against him.

The council was invited to comment.