THE public gallery to a meeting on £35m cuts to Enfield Council's budget will be closed this evening, it has been announced.

Police have pushed for the upstairs gallery at Enfield Civic Centre council chamber for this evening's Full Council meeting to be closed on safety grounds.

Councillors are due to be discussing severe - and controversial - cuts to next year's public spending.

The move comes after a fortnight when several London borough councils have been it by large scale protests – some of which have turned violent – as they try to implement budget cuts.

Enfield Council said this afternoon police had deemed its public gallery unsafe for large numbers of people, due to the steep steps leading up to it.

Following the advice, it said it will continue to shut the public gallery for meetings and review whether any permanent changes need to be made.

Tonight's meeting will have additional seating on the ground floor of the council chamber, and the action will be broadcast via videolink to a committee room in the civic centre.