AN activist leading a lockdown protest was an executive member of the local Labour Party, The Argus can reveal.

Louise Creffield was filmed shouting into a megaphone to dozens of protesters who had gathered on Hove seafront on Monday.

The Argus can now reveal Ms Creffield was on the executive committee of the Brighton Kemptown Labour Party.

She is still listed in the role of the Women’s Liaison Officer on the party’s website.

However, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kemptown, said she is inactive in this role.

Ms Creffield also used to work part-time for Mr Russell-Moyle, who has since described her actions as “totally unacceptable”.

“I’m afraid what she is doing is tantamount to bonkers,” he said.

“By going on protests about this, linked with 5G, it’s so bonkers that you have no credibility in political discourse in my view.”

>> Click here to see the lockdown leader's response.

Police escorted the protesters as they marched along Hove promenade on Monday afternoon.

But onlookers said they were unclear on what the group was protesting against.

Some people are reported to have opposed the 5G network, with a new mast in Carden Avenue, Patcham, approved earlier this month.

Conspiracy theories have linked the masts to the spread of coronavirus, but experts have ridiculed these.

At Hove Lawns, Ms Creffield delivered a speech to about 30 people through a megaphone.

She said: “Are we willing to wait for a crowd while it flounders and tries to get out the sorry mess it’s gotten into while evading any responsibility?

“Do our rights need restoring?”

“Yes,” the gathering volleyed back.

“Are we scared to live our lives?” the speaker asked.

“No,” the group answered.

“Come on then guys, let’s go,” she said to a chorus of cheers before leading the group west along the seafront, in front of the Hove beach huts.

The group carried banners with messages including “no 5G” and at points during the march members could be heard chanting.

The police were preparing for protests last weekend, vowing to “take action” as a mass gathering was set to take place in defiance of lockdown measures.

The UK Freedom Movement, which believes the lockdown measures are unlawful, was plotting to host large gatherings on Brighton beach and “Bevendean Down”. But these never happened at the weekend.

At the Monday protest at which Ms Creffield was present, officers escorted the march along the promenade.

Government advice states that “with the social distancing guidance it is advised that large gatherings should not take place”.

But Sussex Police said it would not have had any powers to enforce social distancing at the protest event.

See the lockdown leader's response here.