“I cannot understand the logic of letting a disturbance in the public gallery lock up council business,” said Pugh.
He added that he found it “baffling” when he compared his life as the MP for Southport between 2001-2017 with life in the council chamber.
“During my time in the [House of] Commons I witnessed chemicals thrown into the chamber and terrorist attacks that cost lives, but the democratic process continued as normal.
“Sefton has keeled over because of a bit of shouting in the public gallery and let it mess up business as usual.”
Atkinson accused Pugh of “petty political posturing” and said the mayor’s decision to halt the meeting on safety grounds had been “sensible”.
She said some of her female colleagues had faced misogynistic abuse from protestors.
“Aggressive and bullying behaviour must and will be met with a zero-tolerance approach,” said Atkinson.
She added that Pugh “should not belittle the genuine fears that councillors and staff had about their safety, in addition to the fact children were also in the gallery on the night.”