Policing bill: MPs have one last chance to protect the right to protest
MPs are preparing to vote next week on some of the most controversial anti-protest measures left in the government’s notorious policing bill.
Amnesty UK has urged MPs to “follow the lead of their colleagues in the Lords in taking a stand against the power-grab” when the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill returns to the Commons on Monday.
Last month, the House of Lords rejected a string of proposals that would have given police in England and Wales increased powers, including the power to stop and search anyone at a protest “without suspicion”.
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Karla McLaren, Amnesty UK’s government and political relations manager, told openDemocracy: “The right to protest is a cherished part of the fabric of our society and it’s profoundly disturbing that the government is trying to gag people like this.
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Just Stop Oil protests and arrests continue at Whitehall
Just Stop Oil protests and arrests are continuing at the UK Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, London. There were 54 arrests on Tuesday, 25 today. Just Stop Oil are calling on the UK government to end new oil and gas.
Twenty-five supporters of Just Stop Oil have been arrested after blocking traffic in central London, on the sixth consecutive day of protest by the group.
At about midday on Thursday, two groups of protesters with the climate activist campaign walked into the road and stopped traffic at the roundabout by Trafalgar Square.
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Supporters of Just Stop Oil have vowed to block the streets of Westminster every single day until the government agrees a halt to all new oil and gas projects. The latest arrests bring the number of arrests related to their protests to more than 100 since Sunday.
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More than 50 Just Stop Oil protesters in UK sent to jail on one day
More than 50 protesters who are demanding urgent action to address the climate crisis were sent to jail on one day this week after refusing to comply with court proceedings.#
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Many of the protesters made it clear they would continue to take action at the Kingsbury terminal if they were released on bail, despite an injunction prohibiting protests at the site still being in force.
In response, 30 protesters in Birmingham and 21 in London were remanded in prison and are due to appear before the courts again next week, when activist group Just Stop Oil said they could face lengthy spells in prison.
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