Councillors to debate how conspiracy theory group infiltrated Wellington's annual street fair

CONSPIRACY theorists used 'deceit' to take part in the otherwise successful annual Wellington Street Fair at the weekend.

More than 60 stalls were booked for the event in High Street and South Street and run by the town council.

But there was controversy when one turned out to be run by anti-vaxxers promoting a range of conspiracy theories, such as the Covid-19 virus being ‘ruthlessly exploited by a global elite through their puppet politicians and mainstream media’.

Cllr John Thorne said: “I was appalled to see this group given a highly public platform to brazenly peddle their mistruths.

“While I accept the council may have been conned into letting them into the event, I was very disappointed that nothing was done to remove them when it became clear what they were up to.

“The big concern now is, will we see them similarly infiltrating events such as the ‘Freedom of Wellington’ for The Rifles regiment which is coming up soon and which will be one of the most prestigious occasions this town has organised for decades.”

The anti-vax group’s presence at the street fair was also criticised at this week’s town council meeting by Cllr Chris Booth, who said how disappointed he was.

Cllr Booth said he understood the group had used ‘deceit’ to gain entry to the event but he hoped they would be stopped from doing so again.

Town clerk Dave Farrow told the Wellington Weekly: “We were misled by the applicants over one of the stalls.

“The application form was in the name of an individual and simply stated they were selling books and magazines.

“We had no indication on the application form that they were anything other than that.

“It was only on the day when they were set up that we realised that it was being run by a group supporting a range of what are widely accepted as conspiracy theories.

“The view was taken on the day that to have removed them would have caused more problems than letting them stay.

“People could ignore them if they did not like what they were promoting.”

Mr Farrow said a fee for the anti-vax stall had been paid by the individual so there was no question of ‘public money involved in them having a stall’.

Mr Farrow said: “In no way was the town council giving a platform to them.

“We were misled and we will be writing to them to say they will not be allowed to attend future events.”

Mr Farrow said councillors would discuss at the next meeting of the town centre committee how such issues were managed in future and what was acceptable and what was not in terms of stallholders.

He said: “That said, it is a difficult subject because what some people find acceptable may not be what other people find acceptable and we have to appreciate that in our country there is free speech whether you agree or not, so we have to strike the right balance.”

Mr Farrow said only community groups were taking part in the upcoming ceremony for The Rifles.

“We know who they all are, so we know this will not happen there,” he said.