Proposals for new laws granting greater powers to police and home secretary spark backlash from campaigners
Civil liberties organizations have sharply criticized plans by the police to enforce government proposals aimed at restricting protests, calling it a “staggering assault” on the right to demonstrate. Their concerns came after the release of a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) on Thursday, which outlined strategies for policing protests in the future.
This report follows the UK government’s announcement of a new bill—the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill—which grants the home secretary, Priti Patel, broader powers to define and act against what she considers “serious disruption” caused by protests. Under these proposed laws, police would have more authority to impose conditions on demonstrations based on the level of disruption they believe these protests could cause to communities and organizations.
The HMICFRS report also highlighted the need for developing covert intelligence-gathering methods and emphasized the anticipated increase in the use of facial recognition technology. This comes despite a recent court of appeal ruling that found the use of facial recognition technology in South Wales had violated privacy rights and equality laws.
Campaigners argue that these plans represent an alarming shift toward further curtailing freedoms of assembly and speech, particularly in light of large-scale protests from movements like Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Black Lives Matter (BLM). Civil rights groups warn that such measures could stifle peaceful protest and undermine democratic freedoms.
