Protestors calling for the resignation of Bristol's Tory leader were given a standing ovation at a city council meeting.

Around 30 people turned up to last night's full meeting at the Council House to express their anger at comments made by Councillor Richard Eddy about funding for an anti-homophobia group.

Mr Eddy, who leads the Conservative group on the city council, had told the Bristol Evening Post he believed the £400,000 Lottery grant awarded to the Clifton-based EACH group was an "outrageous waste of money".

The group plans to use the money to set up support groups for gay and lesbian children and young adults, and tackle homophobic bullying in schools.

The award made up more than half of the money handed out last month in the region by the Big Lottery Fund.

Mr Eddy condemned the decision to award the cash as pandering to "politically correct lobbies" that reflected the Government's priorities – but then found himself branded a homophobe.

Outside the council chamber yesterday, protesters held banners calling for Mr Eddy to be sacked, and chanted "Eddy, Eddy, Eddy, out, out, out".

Barrister Darren Lewis, who set up a Facebook group criticising Mr Eddy following the story, spoke on behalf of the protesters during the meeting.

The 27-year-old from Clifton said: "I represent a group of people who are full of anger and hope.

"They are angry because homophobic bullying is still endemic in schools.

"Four out of five secondary school teachers say they are aware of verbal homophobic bullying, a quarter are aware of physical homophobic bullying.

"They are angry because they read the comments by Councillor Eddy. They are hopeful you might apologise. They are hopeful that the council will stand with us against the bullies, and the bigots and the nay-sayers."

Speaking before the meeting, Mr Lewis said the money wasn't outrageous as it would be divided between four local authorities over a five-year period.

Mr Lewis' speech was followed by a thunderous round of applause from the gallery and most councillors sitting in the chamber. All Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green party members stood up to show their support, followed by around five of the Tory members – including Mr Eddy.

The Tory group leader has strongly denied that he is homophobic, but he did not apologise for his comments.

He said: "For the record, I stated very fully that the Conservative Party and I have always opposed bullying and discrimination in any circumstances.

"Sadly it is all too apparent that the serious issue of bullying has been hijacked by some, including political opponents, who are pursuing their own agenda. The issue is not whether organisations such as EACH are deserving of support. At a time of economic crisis, all publicly accountable bodies have to prioritise limited resources.

"It will be a sad day for our society if members feel unable to speak up for the people who elected them through being cowed by orchestrated campaigns and personal abuse."

Mr Eddy was heckled from the gallery during his response, with shouts of "hypocrite", "shame" and "resign".