No young ‘Eco-terrorists’ in Thame!

FOLLOWING the news that the environmental movement, Extinction Rebellion (XR) had been labelled on a list of extremist ideologies, in a Guide aimed partly at schools, any concerned parents in Thame can rest easy after today.

A spokesperson for Lord Williams’s School in Thame, told Thame.Net today: ” I can confirm that Lord Williams’s School did not receive the ‘Safeguarding Young People and Adults from Ideological Extremism’ guide and therefore no action has been taken in response to the document.

The leaflet, issued by Counter-terrorism police in south-east England, advised teachers and anyone to flag up young people taking part in non-violent direct action, such as sit-down protests, banner drops or ‘writing environmentally themed graffiti’. The document also advised listening and looking out for young people who ‘neglect to attend school’ or ‘participate in planned school walkouts’.

They were asked to look out for people who speak in ‘strong or emotive terms about environmental issues like climate change, ecology, species extinction, fracking, airport expansion or pollution’ and report them to Prevent, the government’s anti-radicalisation programme.

According to reports in the national press, the Police have said that they were recalling the guidance and that XR had been included ‘in error’ in the guide, which was distributed to police, government and teachers in November 2019.

The three primary schools in Thame have not yet responded to Thame.Net’s enquiry as to whether they had been sent the Guide.