Representational Image. AFP
London: The UK government on Tuesday faced a major setback in the House of Lords as they tried to amend provisions of the Public Order Bill in order to crack down on protests.
In close proximity to a protest, ministers intended to give police the authority to halt and search anyone without cause.
Additionally, they intended to put an end to protests before they became disruptive in an effort to stop strategies like slow marching and traffic obstruction.
The ideas were presented as amendments to the Public Order Bill, a contentious piece of legislation intended to crack down on the protest tactics frequently used by rebel groups.
However, the proposal to end protests before they get out of hand was criticised as an assault on the right to demonstrate, and on Tuesday night, peers rejected it by a vote of 254 to 240.
Since these changes were only added to the bill after it was introduced in the Lords, they cannot be sent back to the Commons.
Peers informed John Lewis customers they might be frisked and perhaps arrested in the second attempt, which intended to allow police to stop and search anyone without a warrant.
Concerns regarding the effect such a move may have on innocent members of the public, particularly those with varied racial and ethnic backgrounds, were brought up during a discussion in the upper house.
Additionally, opponents cautioned against enhancing officer authority at a time when public confidence in the police has been shaken by a number of scandals.
Furthermore, a separate bid to prevent protesting from being used as a legitimate justification for blocking a road was also rejected by a vote of 248 to 239 in the negative.
By a vote of 283 to 192, peers continued to defy the government by supporting the bill’s journalist protections.
What did the lords say?
The Lords supported curbs on the use of contentious protest banning orders, which prevent persons who are deemed disruptive from attending future rallies. This was another loss for the Tory frontbench.
A clause that would have permitted the orders to be applied against those who had not been found guilty of any crimes was fully removed by the Lords.
On the brutal second day of the report stage of the bill, the government lost six votes in total.
The protection of Journalists
“Tonight, Labour and crossbenchers in the House of Lords voted to stop journalists from being arrested or prosecuted for reporting on protests, and to stop law-abiding bystanders from being stopped and searched simply forwalking near a protest,” said Sarah Jones, a Labour shadow minister for the home office.
The police have stated that they do not require these extra authorities. Labour supports the police in utilising the authority they currently have to put an end to violent protests and major disruption “But as usual, ministers are more concerned in fomenting controversies than supporting the work of the police.”
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which was controversially approved last year and was criticised for placing restrictions on the freedom to protest, is likely to be replaced by the Public Order Bill.
Why Sunak government wants to clamp down protests
Last Thursday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman defended the modifications by claiming that noisy protests are holding up emergency services and eating up police resources “The police response to just 75 days of Just Stop Oil marches alone cost the taxpayer ?12.5 million. Simply said, this is unfair to the British people.”
And Rishi Sunak added: “The right to protest is a key principle of our democracy, but this is not absolute.” He was responding to a plea from police commanders for “greater clarity to crack down on these guerilla methods.”
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