A campaigner who brought a legal challenge against oil production plans in Lincolnshire, was escorted out of an energy conference in the county this morning.
Mathilda Dennis, a campaigner against Egdon Resources’ plans at Biscathorpe in the Lincolnshire Wolds, was told to leave because of her “body language”.
A security guard, who pushed her towards the door, also said it was because of “intelligence received” about her.
Ms Dennis was one of a group of opponents of onshore oil and gas developments, who applied to attend the conference organised by Lincolnshire County Council. Most were initially refused entry only to later receive a ticket.
The conference attracted local attention earlier this month when Egdon’s parent company, the Texas-based Heyco Energy Group, announced the discovery of a large gasfield based on Gainsborough in Lincolnshire.
Heyco’s chair and chief executive, George Yates, gave some details of the field at the conference. See DrillOrDrop article.
Ms Dennis said she was admitted to the conference without any problems:
“I attended the first lecture and when I came down for a cup of coffee a security guard said that he’d like to see my ticket. So, I showed him my ticket.
“Then he said I should come to the front because they wanted to discuss something. And at that point I was told that my ticket was being removed because of my body language and some intelligence they had on me.”
Asked why she thought she had been ejected from the conference, Ms Dennis said:
“I think it was a combination of not clapping when someone suggested that we needed gas to get to net zero [carbon emissions] and potentially also the Palestine badge [I was wearing].”
Ms Dennis said:
“I am angry and disappointed, quite honestly.
“We are here because we were invited by our councillors to discuss these things. And the main person speaking runs a fracking company.”
“I feel hopeless. How are we ever going to get where we need to when there are people who clearly don’t read the science?”
Ms Dennis missed 90% of the conference. She said:
“I think the council should be more selective about who they invite to speak. I think they and the university should be more careful about their reputations. I think they should start listening to people as opposed to industry.”
Speakers at the conference included industry leaders, such as Cordi O’Hara, President, UK Electricity Distribution, responsible for the UK’s largest electricity distribution network, and Julian Leslie, director of strategic energy planning at National Energy System Operator, the nationalised energy system operator for the UK.
They also included Dr John Constable, who has a PhD in English literature, and a director of the Renewable Energy Foundation, a charity promoting sustainable development by energy conservation.
He described wind and solar as “low-quality fuels” that were being “coerced” into the UK economy.
Dr Constable predicted there would be no renewable electricity produced for the grid by 2030. “The UK should stick to fossil fuels. I hope it will be gas”, he said.
The first speaker, Colin Davie, is a Lincolnshire County Councillor, executive member for economic development, environment and planning, and a trustee of the Renewable Energy Foundation.
He said the UK was facing “an emerging catastrophe”. Businesses were thinking about “fleeing our shores” because of energy costs, he said.
He also said the Paris climate agreement was “dead in the water” and that British people had been “gas lit” and deceived over energy policy. He said the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, had a dogma that had “no grounding in reality” and policy that had “no basis of deliverability”.
We asked Lincolnshire County Council about who chose the speakers and what the intelligence was that led to Ms Dennis’s ejection. We also asked about the cost and attendance at the conference.
A member of the council’s strategic communications team responded:
“The team are following up on a number of positive discussions from today’s sessions so I don’t think we’ll be able to get back to you today but we’ll try our best to respond as soon as possible.”
The council later sent us answers to our questions (10/3/25) . On the intelligence, which led to Ms Dennis’s ejection, the council said:
“We are duty bound to deliver an event in a secure and safe environment. Several people booked onto the conference as individuals and not as business representatives. Each of these were contacted but where professional/business accreditation was received they were granted a ticket.
“The security company employed at the event was courteous and discrete in dealing with the lady in question who agreed to leave. Her entrance to the event and positioning had given them cause for concern and we must be guided by their professional advice during a live event of significant size.”
On the purpose of the conference, the council said:
“The event was about engaging Lincolnshire businesses about the needs, challenges, opportunities and affordability of net zero. It was also an opportunity to highlight Lincolnshire to public sector organisations, stakeholders and energy infrastructure providers as an area that is important to the future energy needs of the UK.”
It said the “direct costs” of the event were £19,957.26. 450 delegates registered and 290 attended. On the choice of speakers, the council said:
“Speakers were selected by officers in consultation with Cllr Davie to focus on energy suppliers, infrastructure providers, innovators and key advocates for the region.”
One delegate who applied to attend the conference, representing SOS Biscathorpe, told DrillOrDrop:
“I was granted a place, that was then removed and then reinstated. My details did not change during this process. At no time was there any explanation.”
She said Ms Dennis’s seat in the conference had been chosen for her by a security guard who “stopped her and more or less made her sit where she did”.
The SOS Biscathorpe delegate described the eviction of Ms Dennis as “wrong and unnecessary”.
“The fact they did it ‘courteously and discretely’ doesn’t make it right or acceptable and this should concern the organisers.”
On the council’s response on net zero, the delegate said:
“I don’t remember anything relating to the need for net zero. Nor was there any mention of the affordability of not addressing net zero.”
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