A hardcore of more than 100 members braved the rain and cold at Staffordshire’s Chasewater Country Park on Saturday morning in the hope of being selected for the group’s ‘first taskforce’.

They were reminded of the risk of Press and police infiltration, with messages sent out prior to the meeting warning them ‘to be careful of what you say, and who you say it to’. Infiltrators were told they would be ‘dealt with’.

A police car was stationed outside the entrance to the park while two pairs of police officers kept a close eye on events, wandering in and out of the scrum of activists to howls of abuse.

With the police in earshot, organisers were keen to stress that the group was lawful and non-violent.

It was only when officers retreated that Glass, dressed in camouflage, formed a huddle to reveal the group’s true intentions. ‘What we’re going to do is, we’re going to get as many as we can,’ he said. ‘And once we’ve got the numbers we’re going to take this to the police. But we’re going to do it professionally.’

The 46-year-old, from Angmering, West Sussex, even suggested that Alpha Men could turn the tables on officers by arresting them for failing to uphold their common-law oath. He failed to explain what he meant by this.

The morning began with a series of rambling speeches. Paul, the chief organiser, attempted to address claims that the group’s name was sexist, arguing that ‘being an Alpha Male isn’t about what you look like… it’s about your backbone, your inner strength and heart’.

One of a dozen or so women present was Sam Goody, who runs an events company in Birmingham. ‘We need to hit the vaccine centres,’ she shrieked. ‘We need to hit the schools, headteachers, colleges, councillors, police, directors of public health in every area… none of us are going to take the ****ing jab and none of our families are.’

Recent posts on Alpha Men Assemble’s Telegram channel state that the group does not incite violence or tolerate racism. Yet other messages tell a different story.

One says: ‘I hope you have a fire in your belly. Time for action. No more ****ing about.’ Another reads: ‘A message to the police… if you pepper spray us, smash us with your battens [sic], threaten us in any way we will defend ourselves, end of, just remember this: we outnumber you.’

Saturday’s training also carried menacing undertones. Glass began with an exercise designed to demonstrate how to break through police lines.

A patch of the country park was soon churned to mud by 40-man mauls, with Glass stepping in on occasion to prevent the aggression from boiling over. He then handed over to another instructor, Gary. Sporting a green Royal Irish Regiment beret, he claimed to have worked in the military and counter-terrorism for 15 years.

Volunteers were told to march in threes, practising manoeuvres to form a wall facing down an imaginary unit of riot police. As he barked instructions to his gaggle of misfits – who had been instructed to dress head-to-toe in black – Gary took on the persona of ‘WPC Doris’, waving around a branch as a makeshift baton. He used this to thrash himself when instructions were not followed.

At times, the proud Alpha Males looked more like Dad’s Army. ‘It’s draining, mentally and physically, this war we are fighting,’ Gary barked. ‘And it is a war. It’s not a war that I was used to when I signed up to the military where you have two opposing sides. This is a war being waged on its people by its governments. This is a global war.’

Group exercises then gave way to sparring. One confused instructor – who looked like he hadn’t been told what he’d signed up for – took blows on pads from the younger members of the group. These skinny, greasy-haired men in their twenties had earlier railed against the ‘cultural Marxism’ that brainwashed their peers at university.

The climax saw a series of tug-of-war matches before Glass gave his final speech. ‘Ultimately, we’re going to take it to the Old Bill,’ he bellowed. ‘It’s not for the faint hearted, but we’re going to go and ****ing do ’em. We’re not going to walk the walk without talking the talk. It’s what we’ve got to do.’

He told activists to exchange numbers and arrange meetings offline ‘so these ****s can’t turn up’ – presumably a reference to the police. ‘There’s only so much we can say in front of them,’ he added.

That night, the group uploaded a video of the day’s training. The montage of marching, punching and kicking was set to music, with the accompanying message: ‘We do this for the children and their future… together we are mightier.’

Labour’s security spokesman Holly Lynch called the Mail’s revelations ‘extremely disturbing’. She added: ‘The men and women on the front line of the response to this pandemic have made enormous sacrifices in the national interest and are true patriots. Those who threaten them are a total disgrace and should not be allowed to get away with it.

‘The Government must act to reassure the public this handful of individuals will be swiftly held to account for any unlawful actions.’

Goody said her words had been ‘taken out of context’. She claimed she had been calling on volunteers to spread information about the Covid vaccine across the community.

When asked for comment, Glass said: ‘Do as you will. You do that anyway and I couldn’t give a monkey’s.’

He later added that the goals of Alpha Men Assemble ‘will always remain lawful’, and that ‘the term anti-vaxxer is a disgusting way to categorise people who choose body autonomy’.

He continued: ‘On Saturday we had elderly people in their seventies and a wide range of races, which is testament to the community we want to build. The training and drills we do are non-combative and are in no way to be linked to extremism.

‘The drills are intended to be a fun and social exercise that encourages team-building and bonding.’