Tory party to clamp down on lobbyists at conference after Greenpeace protest

The Conservative Party will crack down on lobbyists attending its annual conference after two Greenpeace activists launched a protest during Liz Truss’s speech.

Rebecca Newsom and Ami McCarthy stood up during the Prime Minister’s address to Tory members and MPs on Wednesday, shouting and holding a banner that read: “Who voted for this?”

The pair, who work in the campaign group’s lobbying team, were ejected by security after Ms Truss said from the stage: “Let’s get them removed.”

Both women had their conference access passes approved by Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) and attended the event as accredited lobbyists.

They were among the first to join the queue for Ms Truss’s speech on Wednesday morning - arriving at the conference venue at around 7.30am with two concealed banners tucked into a jacket.

Greenpeace, which is campaigning against the Government’s planned scrapping of environmental regulations, has also attended the conference in previous years.

The Telegraph understands the party now intends to review which organisations are accredited amid security concerns.

“It is a shame that their actions may result in other organisations not coming next year and participating in Europe’s largest annual political gathering,” a party source said.

“We will take a stricter view of how much we trust people who claim to be legitimate lobbyists, I’d imagine.”

Ms Newsom and Ms McCarthy will both be banned from future conferences but Greenpeace could also see its accreditation refused.

Other lobbying groups, charities and other attendees who are not party members may not be allowed into the event in future due to the risk of disruption.

Manifesto ‘longest piece of false advertising’

Ms McCarthy is a former parliamentary assistant to Liz Saville Roberts, the leader of Plaid Cymru in the House of Commons, and has been employed as a political campaigner at Greenpeace since March.

Ms Newsom, Greenpeace’s head of politics, is a former environment, politics and development student at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies).

Following the protest in the conference hall, she said Ms Truss had turned the 2019 manifesto into “the longest piece of false advertising ever written”.

“People voted for strong action on climate, a fracking moratorium, world-leading environmental protections, and tackling poverty and inequality,” she said.

“What they’re getting instead is fracking, a potential bonfire of rules on wildlife and nature protection, and now the prospect of benefit cuts.”

‘Tighten up procedures’

MPs suggested the security procedures could be improved so that lobbyists attending conferences are barred from the conference floor for major speeches.

“I don’t think they should have been in the conference hall - that’s for party members and MPs,” one said.

“Just because they are allowed into conference doesn’t mean they should be able to see the PM’s speech.

“We need to tighten up these procedures and make sure all people with passes can’t go in there.”

The protest comes after Theresa May’s 2017 conference speech was interrupted by a comedian posing as a Tory member, who handed her a P45 notice while she was speaking.

Simon Brodkin, the protester, also performs as the character Lee Nelson.

He was escorted from the venue by security guards.