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| Police to get new powers to crack down on repeated protests, says Home Office | Police to get new powers to crack down on repeated protests, says Home Office |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Move follows arrest of almost 500 people at latest pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday | Move follows arrest of almost 500 people at latest pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday |
| Ministers are to give police new powers to target repeated protests, aimed particularly at cracking down on demonstrations connected to Gaza, the Home Office has said. | Ministers are to give police new powers to target repeated protests, aimed particularly at cracking down on demonstrations connected to Gaza, the Home Office has said. |
| The announcement, made the morning after almost 500 people were arrested in London for expressing support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, could allow police to order regular protests to take place at a different site. | The announcement, made the morning after almost 500 people were arrested in London for expressing support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, could allow police to order regular protests to take place at a different site. |
| Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will also look at all anti-protest laws, with the possibility that powers to ban some demonstrations outright could be strengthened. | Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will also look at all anti-protest laws, with the possibility that powers to ban some demonstrations outright could be strengthened. |
| Speaking on Sunday to Sky News, Mahmood said she believed there was “a gap in the law” that required action, and that she aimed to act at speed. | Speaking on Sunday to Sky News, Mahmood said she believed there was “a gap in the law” that required action, and that she aimed to act at speed. |
| Under the planned powers, Mahmood will push through rapid changes to the Public Order Act 1986, allowing police to consider the “cumulative impact” of repeated protests. Details would be set out “in due course”, the announcement said. | |
| If a protest has caused what a Home Office statement called “repeated disorder” at the same site for repeated weeks, police would be able to order the organisers to move it elsewhere, with anyone who fails to obey risking arrest. | If a protest has caused what a Home Office statement called “repeated disorder” at the same site for repeated weeks, police would be able to order the organisers to move it elsewhere, with anyone who fails to obey risking arrest. |
| Mahmood, the statement added, would also review existing legislation to ensure that powers were sufficient and being consistently applied. These included police powers to ban some protests completely. | Mahmood, the statement added, would also review existing legislation to ensure that powers were sufficient and being consistently applied. These included police powers to ban some protests completely. |
| Asked on Sky about the plan, Mahmood said: “What I will be making explicit is that cumulative disruption, that is to say the frequency of particular protests in particular places, is in and of itself, a reason for the police to be able to restrict and place conditions.” | Asked on Sky about the plan, Mahmood said: “What I will be making explicit is that cumulative disruption, that is to say the frequency of particular protests in particular places, is in and of itself, a reason for the police to be able to restrict and place conditions.” |
| This could involve police ordering protest organisers to move the event, or restrict the timescale, she added. | This could involve police ordering protest organisers to move the event, or restrict the timescale, she added. |
| Speaking later to BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mahmood denied this was about banning protest. “This is not about a ban. This is about restrictions and conditions that would enable the police to maybe put further time restrictions or move those protests to other places,” she said. | Speaking later to BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mahmood denied this was about banning protest. “This is not about a ban. This is about restrictions and conditions that would enable the police to maybe put further time restrictions or move those protests to other places,” she said. |
| “What I’m allowing is for the police to be able to take cumulative disruption into account, and it is important.” | “What I’m allowing is for the police to be able to take cumulative disruption into account, and it is important.” |
| The powers appear to be aimed at both mass pro-Gaza demonstrations, which took place in London and some other cities over a period of weeks, as well as those held in support of Palestine Action. | The powers appear to be aimed at both mass pro-Gaza demonstrations, which took place in London and some other cities over a period of weeks, as well as those held in support of Palestine Action. |
| On Saturday, police arrested about 500 people at the latest such protest. It took place despite ministers and Keir Starmer asking that it be postponed after this week’s deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester. | |
| Mahmood indicated this was directly connected to the proposed extra powers, saying: “It’s been clear to me in conversations in the last couple of days that there is a gap in the law and there is an inconsistency of practice.” | Mahmood indicated this was directly connected to the proposed extra powers, saying: “It’s been clear to me in conversations in the last couple of days that there is a gap in the law and there is an inconsistency of practice.” |
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| She continued: “I’ll be taking measures immediately to put that right, and I will be reviewing our wider protest legislation as well to make sure the arrangements we have can meet the scale of the challenge that we face, which is protecting the right to protest, but ensuring that our communities can go about their daily business without feeling intimidated, and also that public order can be maintained.” | She continued: “I’ll be taking measures immediately to put that right, and I will be reviewing our wider protest legislation as well to make sure the arrangements we have can meet the scale of the challenge that we face, which is protecting the right to protest, but ensuring that our communities can go about their daily business without feeling intimidated, and also that public order can be maintained.” |
| Mahmood defended the mass arrests at protests against the ban on Palestine Action, and the decision to proscribe the group under terrorism laws, saying: “People might not like that decision, they might have questions about the way that the anti-terror laws work in this country, but there is no excuse for holding up placards supporting a banned organisation. That will always be met with a police response.” | |
| After Saturday’s protest, the chair of the Metropolitan police federation said officers policing protests in London were “emotionally and physically exhausted”. | After Saturday’s protest, the chair of the Metropolitan police federation said officers policing protests in London were “emotionally and physically exhausted”. |
| Paula Dodds said: “Enough is enough. Our concentration should be on keeping people safe at a time when the country is on heightened alert from a terrorist attack. And instead officers are being drawn in to facilitate these relentless protests.” | Paula Dodds said: “Enough is enough. Our concentration should be on keeping people safe at a time when the country is on heightened alert from a terrorist attack. And instead officers are being drawn in to facilitate these relentless protests.” |
| The planned new power follows protest-related measures in the crime and policing bill going through parliament, which would ban the possession of face coverings or fireworks or flares at protests, and criminalise the climbing of certain war memorials. | The planned new power follows protest-related measures in the crime and policing bill going through parliament, which would ban the possession of face coverings or fireworks or flares at protests, and criminalise the climbing of certain war memorials. |
| The new application of the law will be applied to both static protests as well as marches and rallies, Home Office sources said. It remains unclear whether the planned punishment under cumulative impact will match that of other protest powers. Currently, protest organisers face up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to £2,500 or both for participating in a banned protest. | |
| Legal sources have told the Guardian that the plans will be challenged in the courts, and closely mirror moves by the former Conservative home secretary Suella Braverman to curb protests, which were successfully challenged. | |
| In June, the court of appeal upheld the original judgment in what the civil rights organisation Liberty, which brought the legal challenge, hailed as a major legal victory. | |
| The case centred on legislation passed in June 2023, without a parliamentary vote, that reduced the threshold for when police could crack down on protests, meaning the law covered anything that was deemed as causing “more than minor” disruption. In May 2024, the high court agreed with Liberty that Braverman’s new legislation had been unlawful. |