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‘I was called a national security threat because I organised a protest’

Police banned Sam Knights from the Labour Party conference because of his climate campaign work. He argues we must protect the right to protest

By Samuel Knights
‘I was called a national security threat because I organised a protest’
In April 2019, Extinction Rebellion protested across London with one of the largest civil disobedience events in history | Stephen Bell/Alamy
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I recently discovered that the police consider me a threat to national security.

It seems that it reached this ridiculous conclusion – sadly, but not surprisingly – due to my involvement in the British climate movement.

Perhaps this requires some further explanation. Three years ago, I was unlawfully banned from the Labour Party conference, despite being an elected delegate to the conference. I appealed the judgment in the High Court and Sussex Police backed down. In fact, the claim was dropped minutes before the hearing, refusing to justify their ludicrous decision in public.

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