Greenpeace and Peta listed alongside neo-Nazis on counter-terrorism police documents

The likes of Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace appeared on the list
PA
Tim Baker17 January 2020

Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion have been included in a counter-terrorism document that was handed out as part of anti-extremism training, it has been reported.

Documents seen by the Guardian show the groups listed alongside Extinction Rebellion a few pages after the likes of the National Front and National Action.

The file was reportedly part of training for Prevent, the anti-radicalisation scheme designed to stop those at risk of committing terrorist offences.

Counter-terrorism bosses say that the icons of the groups were included in the same bundle as the pages were part of a resource to allow officers to “make informed decisions”, including during protests.

The document was produced by counter terrorism police
Jeremy Selwyn

But John Sauven, Greenpeace’s UK executive director, 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.

“There is nothing extremist about people from all walks of life taking peaceful, non-violent action to stop climate chaos and ecological collapse.

“The absurd irony is that this programme is aimed at the first ever generation of school kids who have understood the existential threat we face and have taken to the streets asking for more action.”

In a blog post Dean Haydon, the Head of SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, said: “We produce these documents to help frontline officers and other colleagues make informed decisions – including protecting crowded places at times of protest.

“The ‘Signs and Symbols’ document which has become the subject of a Guardian article today was produced to help police and close partners identify and understand signs and symbols they may come across in their day-to-day working lives, so they know the difference between the symbols for the many groups they might come across.”

Extinction Rebellion protest against air pollution kills in London

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Other organisations listed in the document include the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the Badger Cull and ocean pollution campaign Sea Shepherd.

These are included just a few pages after images of swastikas, iron crosses and other Nazi iconography.

The documents were also sent to doctors schools and safeguarding children boards, according to The Guardian.

A spokesman for Worcestershire Acute NHS Trust said they were given the bundle as part of Prevent awareness scheme.

Clare Collier, advocacy director at Liberty, said: “We have long warned that the government’s counter-terror agenda is one of the greatest threats to free speech in the UK.”

However, the document did note that “not all of the signs and symbols noted within this document are of counter-terrorism interest.”

Ms Collier added: “The UK’s counter-terror measures are designed to co-opt public sector workers like teachers to spy on young people in their care – this guide will only add to the confusion and pressures they face.

“It also reinforces long held concerns that the government’s staggeringly broad definition of extremism gives the police cover to characterise non-violent political activity as a threat, and monitor and control any community they wish.”

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