Protests in London as Priti Patel’s Policing Bill heads into critical vote
Protesters flocked London’s streets over the weekend to protest Priti Patel’s Policing Bill, which will be tabled for a critical vote by peers tomorrow.
The Bill, if passed, will grant police new powers to clamp down on demonstrations, including extended stop and search powers and longer sentences.
The so-called ‘Kill the Bill’ protests have cropped up across the UK since it was first proposed in 2020, with activists calling it a threat to the right of peaceful protest.
Activists have also said the Bill will target the UK’s travelling communities by further criminalising ‘unauthorised encampments’.
Amendments to the Bill in November make obstructing major transport works a criminal offence, following the controversial Insulate Britain protests, and could see police ban named people from demonstrating.
Labour peers said on Friday they would be “opposing protest clauses added late” to the Bill.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Freedom to protest within the law is a fundamental part of our democracy, but the police must swiftly deal with the selfish minority of protesters whose actions endanger the public, jeopardise security or stop people going about their lives”.
It comes amid an already hot climate between Londoners and their police force.
Confidence in the Metropolitan Police has plummeted in the past year, according to new research, while the first part of the inquiry into Sarah Everard’s murder is underway.
Research by the Police Foundation and Crest Advisory found “worrying evidence” that trust and confidence in the Met police had worsened amid a series of controversies.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said he would “hold the Met to account”, in a bid to rebuild trust between Londoners and Britain’s largest police force.