🔗 Share this article

Government officials are set to provide law enforcement new authorities to address recurring demonstrations, with a particular focus on taking action against Middle East protests, according to the Home Office.

Recent Detentions and Proposed Changes

This announcement comes the morning after nearly 500 people were arrested in London for expressing support for a proscribed group, a banned organization. These changes could enable authorities to order frequent protests to be moved to alternative sites.

Shabana Mahmood, is also set to examine all legislation regarding demonstrations, with the possibility to strengthen powers to prohibit certain demonstrations completely.

Planned Legislative Changes

Under the planned powers, Mahmood will push through swift amendments to the Public Order Act 1986, allowing law enforcement to take into account the "cumulative impact" of ongoing protests. Further information will be provided "at a later date", as per the announcement.

If a protest has caused what authorities termed "repeated disorder" at the identical site for several weeks, authorities would gain the authority to order protest leaders to move the event to another location, with participants who fail to comply risking arrest.

Broader Review and Public Security

The Home Secretary stated that she would "examine existing legislation to guarantee that authorities are adequate and being consistently applied", including law enforcement authorities to ban certain demonstrations completely.

"The right to protest is a basic right in our nation. However, this freedom must be balanced with the freedom of other citizens to go about their daily lives without anxiety," the Home Secretary stated.

"Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, especially religious communities, experiencing insecurity, intimidated and fearful of going out. This has been especially noticeable in relation to the considerable fear within the Jewish population, which has been expressed to me on many occasions during these challenging times."

"These changes mark an important step in guaranteeing we safeguard the right to protest while ensuring everyone feel safe in this nation."

Recent Situation and Law Enforcement Reaction

The broader powers seem targeting both large-scale pro-Gaza demonstrations, which took place in the capital and some other cities over a period of weeks, and gatherings held to support the proscribed organization.

On Saturday, police detained approximately 500 individuals at the most recent such protest. The event occurred despite government officials, among them political leaders, requesting that it be delayed following this week's deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester.

Police Perspective

Following the recent demonstration, the chair of the police representative body commented that officers managing demonstrations in London were "emotionally and physically exhausted".

"This cannot continue. Our concentration should be on keeping people safe at a period when the nation is on increased security from a terrorist attack. Yet police are being drawn in to manage these relentless protests," Paula Dodds stated.

Additional Legal Actions

These changes come after protest-related measures in the crime and policing bill currently going through parliament, which prohibits the carrying of face coverings or pyrotechnics at demonstrations, and criminalises the scaling of certain memorial structures.