• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Police defend including environmental groups in counter-terror documents

Extinction Rebellion said their inclusion in the documents is ‘pointing a finger at anyone that thinks differently’.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2020-01-18 09:42
in News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Police have defended their inclusion of environmental groups such as Extinction Rebellion in counter-terrorism documents, in the face of criticism it could have a “chilling effect” on people.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, senior national co-ordinator for the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing, said legitimate protest groups had been included in order to inform and guide frontline officers.

He insisted police do not consider such groups to be extremist or a threat to national security.

Read here about why Counter Terrorism Policing produce guidance about signs and symbols of various groups.

Click below

— Counter Terrorism Policing UK (@TerrorismPolice) January 17, 2020

The Guardian reported that a 24-page policing document it had seen included Greenpeace, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and other non-violent groups, as well as extremist right-wing proscribed groups such as National Action.

It said the document was distributed to teachers and medical staff as part of anti-extremism briefings last year.

A signs and symbols guide, also referred to by the Guardian, shows a Nazi swastika in one section and the Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace symbols in another.

Mr Haydon said the guide referred to is aimed at helping police “identify and understand signs and symbols” so they know the difference between them.

In a statement tweeted out on Friday evening, he said: “The guidance document in question explicitly states that many of the groups included are not of counter-terrorism interest, and that membership of them does not indicate criminality of any kind.

“To suggest anything else is both unhelpful and misleading.”

RelatedPosts

Ryanair trolls Zahawi with boarding pass to tax haven

Oil giants making £5k profit a second as households struggle to make ends meet

Biggest day of strikes in a decade will involve up to half-a-million workers

William and Kate ROASTED after ’empty-handed visit’ to food bank

CND protest
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said the group’s inclusion on the list is ‘massive state overreach’ (PA)

He said the document has been used by Prevent – a government programme which aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism – but “only as a guide to help them (Prevent) identify and understand the range of organisations practitioners might come across”.

Extinction Rebellion, which is a worldwide environmental campaign movement, questioned its inclusion in the documentation.

“This is nothing short of pointing a finger at anyone that thinks differently to ‘business as usual’ – which is taking humanity to its grave – and lumping them all together,” the group said in a statement on its website.

“The chilling effect is to leave people feeling under scrutiny, watched and pressurised, feeling othered, ashamed or afraid to be open about the things they care about such as the environment and the world around us.”

Kate Hudson, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said the group’s inclusion on the list is “massive state overreach and threatens our right to political engagement and peaceful protest”.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Tarring environmental campaigners and terrorist organisations with the same brush is not going to help fight terrorism. It will only harm the reputation of hard-working police officers.”

Last week Counter Terror Police South East admitted it had made an “error of judgment” by including Extinction Rebellion in a list of extremist organisations in an official report.

Please login to join discussion

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Lockdown protests: Dozens of arrests as police condemn ‘totally unacceptable’ violence

Parasite: As Above So Below

How To Make: Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes

Watch – Developers slammed after setting ‘death traps’ for birds using netting to stop them nesting

Fort Process announces 2018 lineup of experimental music and immersive art

Harvey Weinstein is ‘losing teeth and going blind’ in prison, his lawyer says

Q&A with John Chester, director of The Biggest Little Farm

Defra: No plans for ‘widespread cull of livestock’ if there is no-deal Brexit

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today, 25 November 2021

Too close to call: French far right surge as election looms

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.