Novara Media can lift the lid on the shadowy folk-rock connections of a far-right drinks party whose secret location was revealed by climate activists.

Last week, the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference took place at the Excel conference centre in east London. ARC was founded by Jordan Peterson and GB News owner Sir Paul Marshall and hosted appearances from Reform leader Nigel Farage, Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch and the leader of the Heritage Foundation – the thinktank that published the Project 2025 blueprint for Trump’s second term.

The unofficial ARC afterparty was to be held at a “secret London nightclub” on Wednesday night. There would be “a heated cigar terrace with cask-aged whiskies”, and DJs would “celebrate the sounds and styles of an unstoppable subculture”, according to a flyer. The party was to be hosted by Sovereign House, event organisers who run what is described as “MAGA’s New York Clubhouse”.

The secret venue turned out to be the Omeara nightclub in Southwark, south London. The party was forced to relocate, however, after climate group Fossil Free London discovered the location and encouraged people to email and message the venue or leave online reviews “letting them know what you think about hosting this event”. Before long, Omeara was replying to the messages on Instagram saying that the planned event had been cancelled.

Omeara is part of the Lowline Entertainment Group. In 2019, Lowline Entertainment Group changed its listing on Companies House to London Venue Group Limited. One of the group’s three directors is Ben Lovett, best known for playing keyboard in festival-favourite folk rock band Mumford and Sons.

In 2021 the band was thrown into controversy after its banjo player Winston Marshall posted praise on social media rightwing American journalist Andy Ngo for his book, Unmasked – described by the LA Times as “supremely dishonest” book on the anti-fascist movement.

Announcing his departure from the band, Marshall wrote: “I failed to foresee that my commenting on a book critical of the far-left could be interpreted as approval of the equally abhorrent far-right.” Nonetheless, his only option was to quit, he said: “I hope in distancing myself from them I am able to speak my mind without them [his bandmates] suffering the consequences.”

Since then, Marshall has become more outspoken politically. Last week he appeared on GB News – the TV channel owned by his dad – speaking to ex-Tory MP Miriam Cates about English identity, live from his dad’s ARC conference.

Novara Media contacted Omeara to ask why it had cancelled the event, but didn’t receive a response.

After Omeara cancelled, afterparty-goers had to wait until an hour before the doors were supposed to open to be told to go to the Cuckoo Club in the West End.