Meeting the deeply radical anti-tax group that is ‘growing in popularity’
“If you are a member of something, it means you’ve accepted membership. Anything with ‘ship’ on the end, it’s giving you a clue: it’s telling you that’s maritime law. That means you’ve entered into a contract.”
This isn’t your standard legal argument and it is becoming clear that I am dealing with an unusual way of looking at the world.
I’m in the library of a hotel in Leicestershire, a wood-panelled room with warm lighting, and Pete Stone, better known as Sovereign Pete, is explaining how “the system” works. Mr Stone is in his mid-50, bald with a goatee beard and wearing, as he always does for public appearances, a black T-shirt and black jeans.
With us are six other people, mainly dressed in neat jumpers. They’re members of the Sovereign Project (SP), an organisation Mr Stone founded in 2020, which, he says, now has more than 20,000 paying members.
As arcane as this may sound, it represents a worldview that is becoming more influential – and causing problems for authorities. Loosely, they’re defined as “sovereign citizens” or “freemen on the land”.
The Sovereign Project claims to now have 20,000 paying members in the UK
Their fundamental point is that nobody is required to obey laws they have not specifically consented to – especially when it comes to tax. They have hundreds of thousands of followers in the UK across platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Telegram.
Increasingly, they are coming into conflict with governments and the law. Sovereign citizens have ended up in the High Court in recent months, challenging the legalities of tax bills and losing on both occasions.
In October, four people were sentenced to prison for the attempted kidnapping of an Essex coroner, who they saw as acting unlawfully. The self-appointed “sheriffs” attempted to force entry to the court, one of them demanding: “You guys have been practising fraud!”
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Moment ‘cult’ tries to kidnap coroner
The Sovereign Project is not connected to any of those cases, nor does it promote any sort of political action, let alone violence.
Instead, they are focused on issues like questioning the obligation to pay taxes, as Mr Stone explains, referencing the feudal system that operated in the Middle Ages.
“Do you know about the feudal system when people were slaves and were forced to pay tax?” he asks.
“Now, unless the feudal system still operates today, and we still have serfs and slaves, then the only way that you can pay taxes is to have a contract, you have to agree to it and consent to it.”
Another member, Karl Deans, a 43-year-old property developer who runs the SP’s social media, says: “We’re not here to dodge tax.”
Local government tends to be a target beyond just demands for tax. Mr Stone speaks of “council employee crimes”.
I ask whether, considering the attempted kidnapping in Essex, there is a danger that people will listen to these accusations of crimes by councils and act on them.
“Well that’s proved,” Mr Stone says. “We only deal with facts.”
Sky’s Tom Cheshire (second left) meets ‘Sovereign Pete’ (left) and other groups members
Evidence suggests this approach is becoming an issue for councils across the UK, as people search online for ways to avoid paying tax.
Sky News analysis shows that out of 374 council websites covering Great Britain, at least 172 (46%) have pages responding to sovereign citizen arguments around avoiding paying council tax. They point out that liability for council tax is not dependent on consent, or a contract, and instead relies on the Local Government Finance Act 1992, voted on by Parliament.
But the Sovereign Project’s worldview extends beyond council tax. It is deeply anti-establishment, at times conspiratorial. Stone suggests the summer riots may have been organised by the government.
“The sovereign fraternity operates above all of this,” he says. “We look down at the world like a chessboard. We see what’s going on.”
He explains that, really, the UK government isn’t actually in control: there is a shadow government above them.
“These are the people who control government,” he explains.
“A lot of people say this could be the crown council of 13, this could be a series of Italian families.”
Violence broke out in numerous towns and cities in August. Pic: PA
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Professor Christine Sarteschi, an expert in sovereign citizens at Chatham University, Pittsburgh, says she’s worried about the threat sovereign citizens may pose to the rule of law, especially in the US where guns are readily available.
“The movement is growing and that’s evidenced by seeing it in different countries and hearing about different cases. The concern is that they will become emboldened and commit acts of violence,” she says.
“Because sovereigns truly believe in their ideas and if they feel very aggrieved by, you know, the government or whomever they think is oppressing them or controlling them… they can become emotionally involved.
“That emotional involvement sometimes leads to violence in some cases, or the belief that they have the power to attempt to overthrow a government in some capacity.”
Professor Christine Sarteschi
Much of this seems to be based on an underlying and familiar frustration at the state of this country and of the world.
Mr Stone echoes some of the characteristic arguments also made by the right, that there is “two-tier policing”, that refugees arriving in the UK are “young men of fighting age”, that the government is using “forced immigration to destroy the country”.
Another SP member, retired investment banker David Hopgood, 61, says: “I firmly believe it is the true Englishman – and woman – of this country – that has the power to unlock this madness that’s happening in the West.
“We’ve got the Magna Carta – all these checks and balances. We just need to pack up, go down to Parliament and say: It’s time to dismiss you. You’re not fit for purpose.”
The members of the Sovereign Project are unfailingly patient and polite in explaining their understanding of the world.
But there is no doubt they hold a deeply radical view, one that is apparently growing in popularity.
The UK, France and Ukraine will work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States, the prime minister has said, in the wake of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House clash with Donald Trump.
Sir Keir Starmer, who visited Washington on Thursday, said he believes Mr Trump does want a “lasting peace” between Russia and Ukraine.
He also said Europe is in a “moment of real fragility” and he would not trust the word of Vladimir Putin.
Follow live – UK hoping Ukraine peace plan can get ‘back on track’ at London summit
Referring to the argument in the White House’s Oval Office on Thursday between Mr Trump, US vice president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Mr Zelenskyy, the PM said it made him feel “uncomfortable”.
“Nobody wants to see that,” he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
He added: “We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we’ve had three years of bloody conflict. Now, we need to get to that lasting peace.”
The prime minister said he was in his office when the White House shouting match began to be broadcast.
“Clearly, you know, there’s a lot of tension,” he said. “The cameras were on.”
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When Starmer met Zelenskyy: What happened?
Later in the evening he phoned both Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy, saying his “driving purpose” is to “bridge this and get us back to the central focus”.
On Saturday, the PM said he had “quite a long time with President Zelenskyy” before speaking to Donald Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron on the phone.
“We’ve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States,” he said.
Of Mr Trump, he said: “I am clear in my mind that he does want a lasting peace.”
Asked why that was, he said: “Because I’ve spoken to him a number of times. I’ve got to know him. I’ve had extensive discussions with him and I believe his motivation is lasting peace.”
He added: “If the central question you’re putting to me is do I trust Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that question is yes.”
The PM said he was still pushing for a US “backstop” on Ukrainian security, adding that it was the subject of “intense” discussion.
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Ukrainians react to Trump row
The “components of a lasting peace”, he said, include a “strong Ukraine to fight on, if necessary, to be in a position of strength”.
And he is pursuing a “European element to security guarantees”.
“That’s why I’ve been forward-leaning on this about what we would do – and a US backstop,” he said.
“That’s the package: all three parts need to be in place, and that’s what I’m working hard to bring together.”
Asked if he would trust Vladimir Putin, Sir Keir said: “Well, no, I wouldn’t trust Putin, which is why I want a security guarantee.
“I wouldn’t trust him not to come again, because he’s proven that he will come again. He’s already done it and we know what his ambitions are.”
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said his party would support sending British troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers in the event that a “credible” deal is struck.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said European nations need to “make sure that America does not disengage”, adding: “If we all get dragged into an escalation, America will get dragged into it eventually.”
She described Volodymyr Zelenslyy as a “hero” and said her heart “went out to” him during the on-camera argument at the White House.
“I watched it and I couldn’t believe what was happening,” she said. “He was being humiliated.”
Such “difficult conversations” should not happen in front of the cameras, she added.
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Sir Keir Starmer greets Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni in Downing Street. Pic: Reuters
The UK is holding an international defence summit on Sunday, hosting the leaders of Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Canada, Finland and Romania.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Sir Keir Starmer it is “very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides” as she arrived for talks at Number 10.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, and Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan will also attend the summit.
It is hoped the meeting will help to get things “back on track”, a government source has told Sky News.
However, they admitted there will be “more ups and downs” ahead.
“We must keep our eyes on the prize.”
The insider added that the government was “working yesterday to get [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy back to the table” and finish the minerals deal with the US.
That was thrown into question on Friday during the clash at the White House.
The source said: “We think it’s the right thing to do. Today is about getting European leaders to go beyond the Twitter rhetoric and step up on defence spending – prepare now for a world with no US security guarantee for Europe, not just in Ukraine.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Ukrainian people “are truly thankful” for US support, hours after talks with Donald Trump descended into a row at the White House.
During a disastrous meeting with Mr Trump, the Ukrainian president was asked by vice president JD Vance, “have you said thank you once?”
In a lengthy social media post, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I always begin with words of gratitude from our nation to the American nation”.
The Ukrainian president insisted the US-Ukraine relationship “is more than just two leaders” but it was “crucial” for his country to have Mr Trump’s support.
He added: “American people helped save our people. Humans and human rights come first. We’re truly thankful. We want only strong relations with America, and I really hope we will have them.”
Ukraine latest: Zelenskyy says Ukraine should be ‘not forgotten’
Mr Zelenskyy will meet Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Saturday afternoon after his plane landed at Stansted Airport.
It comes ahead of a major summit hosted by the UK prime minister on Sunday, where more than a dozen European and EU leaders including Mr Zelenskyy will meet to discuss the Ukraine war and security.
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Zelenskyy’s plane lands in UK
The Ukrainian president had travelled to Washington DC to attempt to secure a ceasefire agreement after three years of war with Russia and a possible mineral deal with the US.
The meeting descended into a shouting match in front of cameras and journalists.
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Watch Trump and Zelenskyy clash
Mr Vance told Mr Zelenskyy: “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.
“You should be thanking the President [Trump] for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Trump clash. Pics: Reuters
‘You’re gambling with World War Three’
The Ukrainian president tried to object but Mr Trump spoke over him and told him: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.
“You’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”
Mr Zelenskyy defended himself and his country, openly challenging Mr Trump on his softer approach to Vladimir Putin and urging him to make “no compromises with a killer”.
More from Sky News:
How Starmer secured wins at the White House
Inside the Oval Office with Trump and Starmer
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Trump and Zelenskyy’s body language analysed
European leaders express support for Zelenskyy
After the row, Mr Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart to leave the White House, according to a US official, leaving the minerals deal in limbo.
European leaders expressed their support for Mr Zelenskyy ahead of the UK summit on Sunday.
France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, and Poland’s Donald Tusk all shared social media posts expressing their support.
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