Death by Conspiracy?: 3. The Protest

0:02Marianna Spring:It's a crisp, cloudless day in mid-December. I'm walking along a busy road in central Shrewsbury towards a protest. Just a day before, the Prime Minister has announced plans to reintroduce Covid restrictions. Covid passports on your phone, work from home if you can. And at the same time, images are leaking out. Cheese and wine on a Downing Street terrace. A senior advisor joking about Christmas parties. This fictional party was a business meeting. And it was not socially distanced. Most of the people at the rally are in their 50s and older. They've gathered to protest against Covid passes, rules requiring people to show proof of Covid vaccination or recovery to enter certain venues.

0:49Marianna Spring:One woman stands with a sign that reads, No to vaccine passports. We've heard that Gary Matthews attended protests like these, and the person who invited us here ran the conspiracy-filled Facebook group that Gary was in before he died. In the years before his death, he'd started posting strange things online, like conspiracies about whether Covid even existed. I'm in Shrewsbury to figure out why that happened. I'm Marianna Spring from BBC Radio 4. This is Death by Conspiracy.

1:27Marianna Spring:Episode 3, The Protest.

1:35Marianna Spring:I've come to this rally not only to understand a little more about Gary's worldview from the types of people that attend these protests, but also because I've been invited here by a man named Charlie Parker. You might remember his name from our first episode. He runs a Facebook group that Gary Matthews was in. The group is called the Shropshire Corona Resilience Network. But when we arrive, there's no sign of the person who invited us. Hi, I'm here from the BBC and we're here doing a podcast series and we were invited along here by Charlie Parker. Most of the protesters are very polite. Most, but not all.

2:15Marianna Spring:One woman with red hair points her phone at me. I've already filmed just to cover ourselves as well. You're not from the BBC, are you? But why do they employ such young people like you to work for the BBC? What do you know at your age? What do you know? You're working for the BBC for a reason. Where are all the real journalists at the BBC? Where are they? A tall man in his 70s, wearing glasses and a beanie hat, comes to intercept. He's holding a sheaf of documents in his hand. He's not Charlie Parker. But he's also asked the BBC to come to the protest. Can I just say, I actually invited the BBC.

2:52and the Shock for the Star and the Chronicle. There's mainstream media, Tony. We're here to further a narrative. Yeah. A false narrative. You're going to speak in... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry. I used to work for newspapers. The BBC are a rancorous organisation. They're scum. You're working for scumbags. Neil, Neil.

3:14Marianna Spring:I'm used to this kind of reception at rallies like this one. Distrust, even hatred of the BBC, is common. Sometimes protesters are fixated on me being a young woman. But today's de facto protest leader, Tony, clutching a letter ready to hand to his local MP, is a more moderate voice. And as Neil is ushered away towards the back of the group, Tony steps forward. As it happens, he's not actually affiliated with the Shropshire Corona Resilience Network at all, and he never met Gary Matthews. And although the protest would get quite a bit weirder later on, to start with, things are relatively straightforward.

3:54Marianna Spring:I start asking Tony about why he's standing out here in the cold.

4:02Today we're here specifically for the Together campaign, which is focusing on the vaccine passports issue.

4:09Marianna Spring:As we speak to Tony, a small group forms around us, a man in his 50s and the woman with the red hair. They chip in over the top of each other. Even some of the most basic questions are met with suspicion. And how many people regularly come to these protests? How big are they usually? 20 people? I'm not sure what you're asking that strange question. Because I want to understand more about them. Well, it just depends on different areas. I've got no idea how many people go to them. But the tension begins to thaw a little and we get to the main point of this protest. Opposition to vaccine passes. The simple message is, together, vaccinated and unvaccinated people, together against vaccine passports.

4:53So that's why we're here. In a moment, I'm going to hand in this letter to Mr Kaczynski's office. Mr Kaczynski is my MP in Shrewsbury. So far, he has not voted against vaccine passports. And this letter asks him to do so.

5:06Marianna Spring:It's a perfectly legitimate political standpoint, with valid arguments on either side. MPs themselves are by no means all agreed. But it's not quite as simple as that, because his argument begins to descend into shakier territory. Would you have the vaccine? Have you had the vaccine? I've thought about this from the beginning, and I was going to because of all the major panic. But as time has gone on, I doubt the official message, which is that they're safe and that they're effective. I don't believe they're safe because I've seen the figures of the number of people who've died from the vaccines and got seriously injured.

5:45There are a very large number of people in the UK that have chosen to have the vaccine. Yes, there are. And there's a very large number of doctors, medical bodies, public health bodies, who have evidence that suggests the vaccine is safe and effective. Why don't you believe that evidence? Because there's a massive body of other doctors and scientists who've got an opposing view that you will not report. You refuse to report it, and that's the issue. We look at all of those views. We do, we do. We interrogate them, we look at them. No.

6:13Marianna Spring:As we talk, I'm handed documents and flyers with numbers on them, leaflets that pick and choose different government statistics and source to sites that spread proven misinformation. Like the flyers, our conversation hops around, from reasonable concerns and political arguments to outlandish theories. So do you think Covid is real? I really shouldn't go down this route, but I don't actually, I don't. Tony quickly intercepts yet again. Let me answer that on behalf of the group. Of course there is a virus, yeah. The origin of it is another matter. We deal with that in our leaflet. A lot of what these protesters are telling me matches up with the kind of posts that Gary Matthews was sharing on his social media before he died.

7:00Marianna Spring:But beneath claims like COVID doesn't exist, which clearly has no basis in evidence, there is something else that rings out loud and clear, a real anger at what's happening in this country. The past two years have been hard on everyone, and most of all on those who've already been let down by the system and who feel like they aren't being listened to by anyone. Obviously, you know, you're being really polite and really nice to talk to, but when we were there just then and one of your fellow protesters called us scum, it makes it quite hard to kind of interview people and talk to them. What do you think about that?

7:36One person in 50. We're having jobs taken. We're losing homes, people are losing their livelihoods, we're being segregated. This is pretty bad stuff. So when you read the papers and you read the BBC News and you're not seeing the whole story, you're going to get angry, aren't you? So yes, it's not acceptable to be calling people scum in any event. However, you can understand the passion because the stakes are so high. When you're wearing a mask, eight hours a day, and it's mostly working-class people that are working in shops. It's not the middle-class people. There is suffering here. are.

8:07Marianna Spring:One story of the pandemic is of people coming together to help each other out, to clap for the NHS. But to those who are suffering, and there are a lot, there is another story of division, of loss, of the social fabric fraying. And in the context of the deep vein of distrust present in this country, it can be easy for some people to flip the script, to think that attempts to keep people safe, which, remember, many think were inadequate and didn't go far enough, are the exact opposite, part of some shadowy, unnamed agenda. This is how misleading information on social media finds an audience. It's nearly one o 'clock.

8:50The Together campaign has asked us all to hand in letters at one o 'clock. And I'm going to do that now. I am going to wear a mask out of courtesy to the people inside. Yeah, of course. Yeah, that's right. So I'm going to do that now. Thank you very much for coming along. That's okay. Thank you for talking to us.

9:05Marianna Spring:I have one more question for Tony before he posts his letter. Does he know Charlie Parker, the man who invited us today? The first I heard from Charlie Parker was yesterday. I didn't know who he was. No idea. Just then, I spot the man himself. He's behind you by the way. Sorry? He's behind you, just so you know. Oh, you're kidding. I've never met him anyway. We've chatted on the phone and he's got various ideas about demonstrations and things and I said, look, Charlie, this is the Together campaign here today. He actually said at the end, okay, well look, I'll butt out of what you're doing at 12 to 1 o 'clock.

9:39So Charlie can speak for himself.

9:42Marianna Spring:Tony posts the letter and, as he cycles off into the Shrewsbury sunshine, giving us a cheery wave as he goes, the atmosphere begins to shift. Charlie Parker, a man in his 30s, dressed in baggy clothes and with a twirled moustache, plugs a microphone into a large, portable amp. 5G guided autonomous driving us cars. 5G treeless microwave streets. 5G robots taking over from people on the factory floor. And a 5G satellite and ground-based total surveillance grid. I try to head towards him, through what is by now a small group of around 15 people. But I'm waylaid by the woman with red hair. Can I just give you a hug?

10:26Oh, I don't... We want to get Covid. You're not going to get him.

10:31Marianna Spring:A man hands me a flyer, warning that if I take a Covid vaccine, I will be cast into hell. It's about a prophecy given in the Holy Bible. And all the while, Charlie Parker is getting into full flow. The Green New Deal, in its present form, will lead to directly microwave the monitored world population reduced to a state of abject poverty and slavery. Remember, this rally is supposed to be about opposing Covid passports. even if some attendees do veer into conspiratorial territory. But now Charlie is heading in a different direction. To the high-tech masters of the long-predicted New World Order.

11:11Marianna Spring:Suddenly, a new character is striding towards the assembled group. I'm trying to run a business here. In other words, one has to start... I get you right to protest, I recognise that. I've got a couple of parties. It's the landlord from the pub next door. He's had enough. What I'm saying is I've got supplies in my business here that will be saying, you're not supporting my business by standing outside of it and making a noise out of it. I appreciate that, bud. A heated discussion begins between Charlie, the landlord, and the woman with the sign. Charlie is looking a little sheepish. They know each other.

11:47Now, tell me then. Yes, madam. As soon as these vaccine passports will negatively affect your business. Look, madam, you voted for the government, didn't you? You voted for the government, didn't you? Did all of you? You voted? Did you all have a vote? Can I ask this? Did you all have a vote? Do you believe that we live in a democracy? I don't want to debate democracy, I don't want to debate passports, I just want you to not affect my business. That's all I want. It's the government's affecting your business. Brilliant, perfect, over there. Great, thanks Charlie. No worries. All right, cheers.

12:23It's going to be my speaker over here a bit.

12:26Marianna Spring:There is some awkward shuffling. The amp is turned away from the pub. It feels a little like the air has been let out of the protest. And with the letter now posted, people begin to head off. But there is one more thing I notice. As Charlie packs up his stuff, some of the protesters start making a joke. One that's in pretty bad taste. It's all your fault. You kill people, Charlie. You're selfish and you kill people, Charlie. Be careful. Kill people and you're filling up the hospital wards, Charlie. They're saying these bizarre things because Charlie Parker is more than just a man with an amp. He's one of the people that runs the Facebook group that Gary Matthews, who died of Covid, was also a part of.

13:14Marianna Spring:So given that, why exactly are these protesters joking about killing people? People in Shrewsbury have accused me of being a murderer because Gary died and have shouted out murderer to me in the street, blood on your hands. If that's honestly what you think, then harass me. I'm Marianna Spring and that was episode three of Death by Conspiracy from BBC Radio 4. Next time, what more can we find out about Charlie Parker?