False climate lockdown claims in Oxford lead to death threats

False claims that a lockdown to help fight climate change could soon be enforced in Oxford have spread on social media. Residents are confused and local politicians have received a torrent of abuse as a result.

"I'm still feeling a bit bruised, if I'm honest, and a bit cautious," said Duncan Enright, cabinet member for travel and development strategy at Oxfordshire County Council.

The last two weeks have been unusual for him, to say the least. He has been berated by complete strangers on social media. Death threats have put him and his family on guard.

"I know people very well in this area, and they're lovely," he said. "This is something I've never experienced before in many years in local politics."

So how did a mainly rural county suddenly find itself at the heart of a social media storm?

In November, Oxfordshire County Council approved a £6.5m trial scheme designed to stop most drivers in Oxford from using busy city routes at peak times.

To achieve that goal, the council proposed the creation of traffic filters, enforced through cameras, in six key locations across the city.

Private cars will not be allowed through without a permit. All other vehicles, including public transport and bikes, will be exempt.

After the news broke, a number of fringe media outlets began describing the initiative as an effective "climate lockdown".

They falsely claimed that the scheme would, in practice, "lock" residents in their own homes.

They also wrongly suggested that, through the use of permits, the council was being given powers to decide who gets to travel around the city.

"It's not a lockdown," said Liz Leffman, leader of Oxfordshire County Council. "People are going to be free to travel around, just as they are at the moment."

The trial scheme, which is not expected to start before 2024, is designed to cut unnecessary car journeys, while making walking, cycling and public transport more appealing.

And yet, social media posts about an alleged "climate lockdown" found a willing audience among conspiracy-minded users, who shared them thousands of times.

Councillors soon found themselves having to respond to these allegations in public. Emily Kerr, from Oxford City Council, was one of them.

"People have come up to me and said: 'Is it true that we're not going to be allowed out of our houses, that it's going to be just like the coronavirus lockdown?'.

"When people get very worried about it, and then realise it's not true, I think they're just relieved," she said. "It's really worrying, it scares people."

Thousands of people have voiced concerns over the scheme, suggesting, for example, that it may hit residents' pockets, as well as put additional pressure on already struggling businesses.

"People had perfectly valid objections," said Ms Leffman, who leads Oxfordshire County Council. "We'd heard a number of those objections before and modified our proposals as a result."

But even among those who oppose the plans, there are concerns over how unfounded claims have entered the public debate.

"Attack them on the facts not on conspiracy theories," tweeted Conservative councillor Liam Walker.

After claims of a "climate lockdown" were picked up by outlets in the US and Australia, councillors were targeted by a fresh wave of online abuse.

"I began to get trolled," said Mr Enright. "At its height, I had text messages, which is unusual, a couple of calls, and direct emails as well making threats, and that was alarming.

"The messages are coming from all over the world."

Oxfordshire County Council told the BBC that some of its staff members have also been receiving threats over the phone.

In a joint statement with Oxford City Council, it condemned the abuse, which it said was "due to inaccurate information being circulated online". It also said it was working with Thames Valley Police to "report the most extreme abuse".

"I feel quite angry about it," said Mr Enright. "This is illegitimate in a modern democracy like ours, that people should behave in this way.

"I've been built up into some huge monster," he said. "I'm not a lizard, I'm not a person from another planet who is trying to take over people's lives."

Several councillors suspect the "climate lockdown" conspiracy is being pushed by groups from outside the county.

"It's an organised sort of group of climate change deniers," said Ms Kerr.

The BBC has seen evidence that protests against the supposed "climate lockdown" in Oxford are being planned in 2023. Promotional material has been shared online by groups known for spreading conspiracy theories, including about Covid-19 and vaccines.

So is the social media storm likely to die down then?

"The people who are spreading this misinformation will continue to do so," said Ms Leffman, urging caution to other councils.

"This is going to happen in other parts of the country, because I don't think we're going to be the only city that will make the decision to limit traffic."