Counter-terrorism chiefs ordered a formal assessment of whether Extinction Rebellion was a national security threat one year ago and then sent a secret report about the group to police forces, the Guardian has learned.

The revelation shows that counter-terrorism police’s interest in the non-violent climate emergency group began earlier and was more extensive than previously thought.

Police insist that the confidential assessment, which was titled Rising Up, concluded that XR was not a terrorist or extremist threat, and was sent to regional counter-terrorism units and “policing partners”. They have declined to give any more detail about what it covered.

The document from the Counter Terrorism Policing’s National Operations Centre (CTPNOC) was marked as sensitive and produced in February 2019, soon after XR was formed in October 2018. It was needed, police say, because the group was attracting a “large following” and counter-terrorism specialists needed to assess their “goals and methods”.

The Guardian first revealed that a counter-terrorism document from November 2019 labelled XR as extremist last month, which police apologised for and withdrew only after its existence was made public.

Then revelations about CTP documents from June 2019, titled “Signs and Symbols”, listing XR and other peaceful groups such as Greenpeace and Peta, alongside banned terrorists and extremists, caused anger and claims from activists that freedom of protest and thought were being threatened.

The non-violent groups were alarmed to discover that the documents had been circulated as part of Prevent briefings for teachers and medical staff, to help them spot people at risk of falling into terrorism. Both leading Labour politicians and one Conservative heavyweight have voiced their concerns.

The Guardian further understands that Counter Terrorism Policing headquarters (CTPHQ) produced documents about non-violent protest groups.

An Extinction Rebellion spokesperson said: “We all agree public safety is paramount. However, if CTP is used as a blunt instrument, it is a threat to human rights.

“We are concerned about how far, how long and how intrusive this investigation might have been and the ongoing implications. We would request that the police make this top secret Rising Up report available to the public alongside any other reports.”

Yvette Cooper, the Labour MP recently re-elected as chair of the home affairs select committee, said: “Following the recall of CTP guidance on Extinction Rebellion last month, we need to know whether this report that was circulated to police forces across the country also contained wrong information or categorisation.

“We need to know whether the Home Office has seen this report and if they have taken any necessary actions. They need to show leadership and responsibility on this so the public can maintain confidence in the crucially important counter-terror work the police do.”

After police were contacted about the document, the UK’s senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, deputy assistant commissioner Dean Haydon, decided to explain counter-terrorism police’s interest in XR.

Speaking to the Guardian, Haydon said that producing Rising Up was the right thing to do: “When a protest group is gaining influence and beginning to attract a large following, it is necessary for policing to assess that group’s goals and methods to see whether they pose a security threat or are at risk of attracting extremists who might be a threat to the public. This also provides forces with important information that can help them facilitate peaceful protest.

“Because of our national remit and access to information from across the UK via all 43 police forces, Counter Terrorism Policing has been in a unique position to produce this guidance. We did so in the case of Extinction Rebellion, and as we have already said, we do not consider them to be a counter-terrorism risk.”

He added: “That’s an assessment that’s been produced internally for CT professionals.”

On the Signs and Symbols document, Haydon said he regretted any offence, and offered to meet peaceful groups offended by their inclusion.

He said it and other CTP documents would be amended, but not withdrawn: “We’re updating and refreshing it. And then secondly, if certain groups are in there, if it has caused offence, then we are reaching out to those groups to come and have a conversation with us, so we can explain the wider context.”

Protest groups suspect and fear unwarranted police interest in them. The revelations this month have only fanned those longstanding concerns.

Rosalind Comyn, from Liberty, said: “Knowing that any one of us could be treated as a possible national security threat if we engage in activism acts as a deterrent to us speaking out against the state, and that is deeply worrying. These actions threaten the traditions of activism and peaceful protest we have always used to protect our rights and stand up to power.”

Haydon said CTP had to have an interest in public order issues and would continue to do so, because groups such as National Action and al-Muhajiroun had started on the street with demonstrations then morphed into terrorist threats. Both are now banned.

But the counter-terrorism chief, the second most senior in the UK, said he wanted to get out of the business of producing guides on groups for mainstream policing dealing with protest groups.

Haydon said: “So what we’re doing at the moment is transferring responsibility for public order matters lock, stock and barrel into mainstream policing. That’s going to take some time. So Signs and Symbols documents, policy and some of the other stuff we do that I’ve explained are moving to mainstream policing.”

He said police chiefs from every force in England and Wales, as well as from counter-terrorism policing, met after the Guardian’s revelations.

One force that received a copy of Rising Up was Police Scotland, the second biggest force in the UK.

One source said it had been “copied and pasted” and used as the basis for briefings on XR for its local Contest liaison officers (LCLOs), who deliver the Prevent programme to schools and others. Contest is the name for the government’s counter-terrorism strategy.

The briefings are revealed in Police Scotland reports written for Angus council and Dundee city council.

One report reads: “Extinction Rebellion briefings were provided to local Contest liaison [police] officers in Angus. Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a UK-born international movement, which aims for nothing less than global civil disobedience to pressure governments across the world to act on climate breakdown and species extinctions.”

Chf Supt Andrew Todd, Police Scotland’s divisional commander for Tayside, said: “Our Contest liaison officers provide advice to partners on a whole range of issues, some of which are not related to terrorism.”

Additional reporting by Russell Scott