Members of the campaign group ‘Time to wake up Devon’ were asked to leave this month’s main Kingsbridge Town Council meeting when they started talking loudly and outside the allotted time.

The group, who claim they are “fighting for freedom” against the newly-adopted Devon Carbon Plan and aim to “restore power back to the people” raised a large number of issues including the Devon Climate Emergency Plan which was signed three days after the Covid lockdown.

The plan gave emergency powers to the authorities which the group claim would mean the end of diesel and petrol cars by 2030, the reduction of flights, the instigation of carbon credits, the taking away of car parking and stopping cars in cities.

They said digital ID would lead to restrictions of movement and that daily movements and individual’s carbon footprints would be tracked.

The group are also against so-called ‘smart’ cities, the first being Oxford which will be zoned and residents given a limited number of credits before receiving fines. A spokeswoman said: “People don’t understand what the UN Agenda and Net Zero really are. It means us not moving about. CO2 is the gas of life and it’s needed by plants.”

Once inside the Town Hall the meeting began with members of the public being given 15 minutes between them to speak to the councillors. There were three speakers meaning that the group were given five minutes which they exceeded despite objections from the Chair Deputy Mayor Cllr Martina Edmonds.

Later in the meeting several members of the group started talking loudly and after receiving warnings were asked to leave the chamber by Cllr Edmonds banging her gavel.

There was a heated exchange between District and County Councillor Julian Brazil.

The activists left, vowing to return and with one member uttering a swear word on his way out.

Rosa Hannaford from Kingsbridge Climate Action said: “It was a real shame to see this kind of misinformation about climate change being presented at a town council meeting, especially in such a hostile and divisive manner.

The science on climate change can feel complex and overwhelming, but the IPCC reports summarising it have been signed off by every one of the 195 nations - including oil states like Saudi Arabia and Iran. If the science wasn’t robust, why would these countries sign something committing to leave trillions of dollars of fossil fuels in the ground? If there is credible peer-reviewed science that can disprove the widely accepted need to reduce emissions, where is it? Why aren’t the oil companies shouting it out from the rooftops?

“The idea that Net Zero is all part of a globalist agenda to take away personal freedoms just doesn’t make any logical sense. There’s nothing that Governments would like more than not to have to tackle climate change so they can continue with business as usual.

“The real conspiracy is that oil companies have been spreading misinformation for decades, lobbying and funding our politicians and leading to catastrophic lack of action on the climate crisis.

“Yet even oil companies themselves now publicly accept the science on climate change, as denying it has become laughable, with its impacts clear and visible to all of us.

“Grassroots groups like Kingsbridge Climate Action will continue to work towards local solutions that help to reduce waste and cut emissions, as well as improving wellbeing and helping to build community.”