Jeremy Corbyn warned the bill would ‘disempower’ the public at ‘kill the bill’ protests
In the capital, thousands of people marched from Holborn past Downing Street to Westminster, chanting “kill the bill” protesting against the crime and policing bill being voted by the House of Lords on Monday (17 January).
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke at the protest, warning that the laws would “disempower” the public.
He said: “If the right to protest is restricted, if you have to seek police permission to do anything, well, where does that lead to?”
“It leads to every protest becoming a conflict about having the protest, rather than what the protest is about,” he added.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill would toughen measures officers can take to disperse demonstrations, such as imposing time and noise limits, which campaigners and activists fear would be used to curb dissent.
If you have to apply to protest it’s not a protest, it’s a parade
As a friend of mine declared “If you have to apply to protest it’s not a protest, it’s a parade” –David Andrew Gannon
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill would toughen measures officers can take to disperse demonstrations, such as imposing time and noise limits, which campaigners and activists fear would be used to curb dissent.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill would toughen measures officers can take to disperse demonstrations, such as imposing time and noise limits, which campaigners and activists fear would be used to curb dissent.
Members of a wide range of social, racial and environmental justice groups joined the rally, demanding that peers stop the bill from becoming law.
The bill would put protesters at risk of lengthy prison sentences and hefty fines for actions that cause “serious annoyance”, which could be done just by making noise.
It would expand stop and search powers, and new laws against residing on land without authorisation with a vehicle would effectively criminalise Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
Amendments added to the Bill by the Government in the House of Lords in November make obstructing major transport works a criminal offence and would equip police with the power to ban named people from demonstrating.
#KillTheBill
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