A Kent Police riot van was filmed on the Preston New Road (PNR) site where the anti-fracking demonstrations have been held for many months now. PNR is currently the front line of the anti-fracking campaign after Lancashire County Council turned down an application to frack there only to have it overturned by the Secretary of State.

Importantly PNR is nowhere near Kent, so what are Kent Police doing there almost 300 miles away at the opposite end of the country? Who is paying for them? What are they there to learn? Who decided that it was ok for them to go there?

A couple of years ago Kent Police went undercover to infiltrate a university debate on fracking in Canterbury. They asked for the names of people who would be in the audience and they planted a senior officer in there too. What are they worried about?

I visited Preston in 2015 and will be returning in a couple of weeks to show my solidarity with the protesters and to make a protective offering!

See this video from PNR starting at 13:50 https://www.facebook.com/george.brown.10485/videos/1563863640323151/

Kent Police have an unhealthy interest in fracking. Three years ago they went undercover to infiltrate a university debate on fracking in Canterbury. They asked for the names of people who would be in the audience and they planted a senior officer in there too. Now we find them working in Lancashire as part of the ridiculously huge security detail that is guarding the Caudrilla site against peaceful protestors.

I want to know what they are doing there and who is paying for them. I want to know why they have an interest in the anti-fracking movement when there are crimes being committed on the streets of Kent. I want to know who decided it was OK for them to travel 300 miles to Lancashire rather than policing the towns in Kent.

I will be writing to the Chief Constable to ask for an explanation.