Military cancels talk by Extinction Rebellion activist

AN ARMY leadership conference has cancelled the appearance of an Extinction Rebellion (XR) protester after a major general intervened.

Chris Taylor, a member of XR’S “vision sensing group”, was due to speak at a Centre for Army Leadership conference on Dec 1.

Contributors from the military, academia, sport and business sectors are invited to address the relationship between leadership and culture.

However, conference organisers have now cancelled Mr Taylor’s invitation, explaining the Army cannot “align itself ” with an organisation such as XR which breaks the law during protests.

It said the decision to withdraw the invitation was made by Maj Gen Duncan Capps, Director Leadership for the British Army.

An Army spokesman said: “While the Centre for Army Leadership encourages diverse thinking and alternative views, we recognise the challenge of inviting a member of Extinction Rebellion to speak at our conference.

“At the direction of the Army’s Director Leadership, Chris Taylor will no longer attend.”

An Army source added: “The intent was to seek broad and diverse views but on reflection it is clear that the Army cannot align itself with any organisation (however noble its purported aims) that uses tactics or methods that break the law.”

Other guests still invited to the conference include the author Simon Sinek and Olympic gold medal hockey player Kate Richardson-walsh.

Extinction Rebellion has become well known in recent years for staging highly disruptive and controversial protests which have blocked major roads and halted activity in some of the busiest areas of the country.

In August, the group brought parts of London to a standstill during a fortnight of action aimed at persuading the Government to stop new investment in fossil fuels. Police arrested more than 300 activists.

Insulate Britain, an XR offshoot, has recently been criticised for blocking some of England’s busiest motorways. Ministers resorted to applying for High Court injunctions to stop the activists, putting them at risk of being jailed if they continue protesting.

Last month, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, announced plans to increase the maximum sentence for disruption of a motorway, as well as a new criminal offence for interfering with critical national infrastructures, such as the road network, railways and newspaper printing presses.