Totnes residents are concerned about the spread of “misinformation” they fear will be aired in a public meeting in their town.

The New World Alliance, a group formed last year, is planning a conference of ‘truth speakers’ on Sunday.

Details of the venue will not be announced until 24 hours before the event.

In November 2021, a row broke out when the alliance was banned from holding a similar event at Totnes Civic Hall.

The Paige Adams Trust, which runs the hall and is formed of town councillors, cancelled the booking following complaints from residents.

Now the group is back with another conference, but for now is keeping the venue under wraps.

Totnes Mayor Cllr Emily Price said the council is aware of the planned ‘truth speaker’s conference, though said the details are unclear.

“A number of constituents have expressed concerns about the record of potentially dangerous misinformation and the antisemitic views historically expressed by some of the participants,” she said.

“The town council made its position quite clear when it opted not to host such an event some years ago, and I would hope that if public concerns about potential antisemitic content in the ‘truth’ conference turn out to be justified, the relevant authorities will not hesitate to act accordingly.”

Totnes Town Councillor, Ben Piper, fears the group will “exploit people’s fear.”

He said that as a community famous around the world for its progressive thinking and its tolerance of eccentricity, Totnes stood as beacon of hope for positive approaches to the challenges of a dangerous and increasingly unstable world. 

“This community may be seen as progressive, even fanciful, but there has always been a more rigorous side to questioning here, and that means we don’t blindly fall in with the latest wave of extremism.’

He said the group had predicted a large amount of deaths from covid vaccinations and claimed that they contained microchips, neither of which had manifested. Now they were ‘5G’ fear-mongering and denying climate change, he said.

He said the town councillors were not banning free speech but they were not giving these views a platform in a building that was held in trust for the wider community.

Due to the speak at the conference are Professor Mike Lister, Dave Murphy and Patrick Henningsen.

The New World Alliance have been contacted for comment