Police say rumours of ‘bussed-in’ protesters and undercover agents are false—but damage is done

Sunlight streamed across Epping High Street as three local men nursed their pints and confidently shared their version of recent events. Essex police, they claimed, had used official vans to transport masked antiracism protesters into the town—and those same activists were actually undercover officers “posing as lefties”.

“They looked like foot soldiers,” said one, who identified himself only as “Steve Davis”. “Anyone who works in security would clock the hand signals.”

But there’s one major flaw in their tale: none of it is true.

Essex police issued a categorical denial. No protesters were bussed in by the force, and there were no police decoys masquerading as activists. These claims, dismissed by officials and easily disproved, had already spread across social media like wildfire, amplified by right-wing figures including Nigel Farage and echoed on GB News.

The spark for unrest in Epping came when an asylum seeker housed at the Bell Hotel was charged with sexual assault. What followed was a wave of protests laced with xenophobia, led in part by far-right groups like Homeland, Patriotic Alternative, and White Vanguard. Disinformation fanned the flames.

The Bell Hotel, with its white walls and tiled roof, now fenced off and guarded by officers, became the eye of the storm. Protesters, some local and many radicalised online, clashed with Stand Up to Racism demonstrators last week. Video footage of antiracists being ushered away in police vans—after being pelted with projectiles—was spun as supposed proof that police had imported them into Epping.

In reality, Essex police confirmed the antiracist protesters had walked to the hotel from the station and were escorted by officers for safety. Yet the footage was eagerly shared by Farage and former GB News presenter Dan Wootton, who falsely claimed that the police had “transported” the protesters in vans.

By Wednesday, Farage doubled down. Posting the clip on X, he declared it “proved” his case and demanded the resignation of Essex’s chief constable, Ben-Julian Harrington. Though police issued another emphatic denial and Harrington warned publicly of “real-world consequences” from online lies, the damage was done.

When Farage was confronted with the facts, he slightly walked back his claim, admitting he may have been “slightly out on accuracy”—but stood by “the gist”. His original tweet remains online.

Stand Up to Racism’s Lewis Nielsen was blunt in his response: “It’s a complete lie that we were bussed in. We organised with unions, faith groups and locals. This is about pushing back against the far right, not staging theatre.”

Wilder claims keep coming. Accusations of routine shoplifting by asylum seekers. Posts alleging police paid protesters £40 for “three hours’ work”. Photos of antiracist demonstrators have been pored over by conspiracy theorists in the Facebook group Epping Says No!, whose administrators include far-right activists Adam Clegg and Callum Barker.

Even footage of Stand Up to Racism members giving “thumbs-up” hand signals has been misinterpreted as coded police gestures. Essex police have had to address these myths directly via their YouTube channel. Assistant chief constables appeared in videos rejecting claims that “police decoys in the crowd” encouraged violence.

Nielsen added that the idea that the police were involved in their protests was laughable. “We’ve seen more repression from police than support,” he said.

Yet the lie persists.

It reveals how a single video clip, manipulated and magnified by ideological actors, can tear at a town’s fabric—long before truth has a chance to catch up.