Extinction Rebellion: Former police chief criticises terror guide

Rob Cooper: "How can demanding the government listen to the science be considered extreme?"

A former chief superintendent has criticised police for including environmental groups such as Extinction Rebellion in a counter-terrorism guide.

Rob Cooper, who retired from the Devon and Cornwall force 10 years ago, said there was a "real danger" it could lead to "guilt by association".

And he warned the move could "deter law-abiding people from acting on the biggest threat currently facing us".

Police said the guide was was produced to help frontline officers.

Extinction Rebellion is listed as an "extreme ideology" in the 12-page guide by Counter Terrorism Policing South East - part of the national counter-terrorism policing network.

Mr Cooper, an Extinction Rebellion campaigner in Plymouth, said "breakdown of our climate" was the biggest threat humankind faces, adding: "How can demanding the government listen to the science be considered extreme?"

'Unhelpful and misleading'

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, senior national co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said police did not consider legitimate protest groups to be extremist or a threat to national security.

He said the visual aid was produced with the aim of helping police "identify and understand signs and symbols" so they know the difference between them.

In a statement, 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."