Monday, March 15, 2021
Anti-democratic government seeks to limit protest
In the light of the overreaching of police powers at the weekend one would think that the government might pause and reflect before seeking to introduce new legislation limiting our right to protest. Unfortunately, this anti-democratic, right-wing government have another agenda.
The Guardian reports that more than 150 organisations have warned ministers that a new law handing police tougher powers to crack down on protesters would be “an attack on some of the most fundamental rights of citizens”.
They say the groups, including human rights charities, unions and faith communities, said on Sunday the wide-ranging legislation would have a hugely detrimental effect on civil liberties, and called for the government to “fundamentally rethink its approach”:
In a letter to the home secretary, Priti Patel, and the justice secretary, Robert Buckland, seen by the Guardian, they claim the 307-page police, crime and sentencing bill – being debated on Monday and Tuesday before a vote – is being rushed through parliament before people have “been able to fully understand its profound implications”.
Some of the new police powers are draconian, they said, cautioning that the new law would also increase penalties for those breaching police conditions on protests and the ease with which they can be found to have done so.
They said it raised “profound concern and alarm” and would also threaten access to the countryside and criminalise Gypsy and Traveller communities, adding that the legislation is being “driven through at a time and in a way where those who will be subject to its provisions are least able to respond”.
Signatories to the letter include Liberty, Big Brother Watch, Unite, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Unlock Democracy, Cafod and Extinction Rebellion local groups.
If this bill becomes law then defacing monuments will be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The starting point for rape sentences is currently five years, rising to a life sentence for the most serious. That assumes of course that a rape offence gets to court as only 1.7% of reported rapes are actually prosecuted in England and Wales.
The Guardian reports that more than 150 organisations have warned ministers that a new law handing police tougher powers to crack down on protesters would be “an attack on some of the most fundamental rights of citizens”.
They say the groups, including human rights charities, unions and faith communities, said on Sunday the wide-ranging legislation would have a hugely detrimental effect on civil liberties, and called for the government to “fundamentally rethink its approach”:
In a letter to the home secretary, Priti Patel, and the justice secretary, Robert Buckland, seen by the Guardian, they claim the 307-page police, crime and sentencing bill – being debated on Monday and Tuesday before a vote – is being rushed through parliament before people have “been able to fully understand its profound implications”.
Some of the new police powers are draconian, they said, cautioning that the new law would also increase penalties for those breaching police conditions on protests and the ease with which they can be found to have done so.
They said it raised “profound concern and alarm” and would also threaten access to the countryside and criminalise Gypsy and Traveller communities, adding that the legislation is being “driven through at a time and in a way where those who will be subject to its provisions are least able to respond”.
Signatories to the letter include Liberty, Big Brother Watch, Unite, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Unlock Democracy, Cafod and Extinction Rebellion local groups.
If this bill becomes law then defacing monuments will be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The starting point for rape sentences is currently five years, rising to a life sentence for the most serious. That assumes of course that a rape offence gets to court as only 1.7% of reported rapes are actually prosecuted in England and Wales.
And we thought Labour had a poor record on civil liberties.
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Theresa May made a contribution to the debate yesterday, warning that the Bill would compromise civil liberties. When Mrs May believes that government legislation is dangerous, then we really are in trouble!
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