'The law must be obeyed': Home Secretary dismisses claims new police protest powers signal an 'authoritarian' Britain

On Sunday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced new police powers to impose conditions on repeat protests, including the location and length of the protests.

Under the proposals, forces will gain additional powers to govern how protests are policed and organised. It follows the arrest of 492 Palestine Action protesters in Central London on Saturday.

"I'm afraid, whether you're a Vicar or an 89 year old, or indeed anybody else, if you're holding up a placard that is supporting a proscribed organisation, you are breaking the law of our land," Ms Mahmood told LBC.

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The comments follow the arrest of an 89-year-old protestor, a blind man and a Vicar - who was sat with her eyes closed and holding a poster which said “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”.

Speaking with Lewis Goodall on Sunday, the Home Secretary hit back at suggestions protesters were arrested for doing "nothing more than holding up a placard".

"In holding up a placard, you are breaking the law, because you are supporting a proscribed organisation."

She added: "Just as we would not accept people holding up placards supporting Hamas or Hezbollah or any other proscribed group, National Action and so on, the same applies to them."

In a letter from the Home Office, Ms Mahmood said the country is facing "a period of heightened tensions and division" and the changes are needed to "tackle the repeated disruptive protests we have seen".

"Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we will amend sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to allow senior officers to consider the cumulative impact of protests on local communities when they are imposing conditions on public processions and assemblies.

"This will allow you more flexibility to prevent disruptive protests from attending the same location and instruct organisers to move to a different site."

Insisting "police are doing the right thing" when it comes to Palestine Action arrests and applying the law, the Home Secretary's comments come amid claims an already stretched force is being pushed to its limit following protests linked to the group's proscription.

"I'm afraid I have no truck with this argument that suggests that somehow police resources are better deployed elsewhere, enabling mass criminality by people who have a political point to make," she continued, speaking on Saturday's protests.

Going forward, if a protest has taken place at the same site for weeks on end and caused repeated disorder, the police will have the authority to, for example, instruct organisers to hold the event somewhere else.

It comes as Green Party leader Zack Polanski told LBC the move was "deeply irresponsible".

Anyone who breaches the conditions will risk arrest and prosecution, the Home Office said.

Standing firm, the Home Secretary added: "People can think something is stupid or not, but you do not break the laws of our land.

"It's perfectly legitimate to say that maybe you want to see the laws around proscription changed or you have a critique of the process, but the law of our land is that supporting a proscribed organisation is against the law," she insisted.

"I would expect the police rightly to be policing mass criminality and making mass criminality holding up a placard, arrest as required.

"There is no excuse for breaking the law," she insisted.

"You wouldn't expect the Home Secretary to say anything other than the rule of law and the laws of our land must be obeyed and those who break our law will face the full force of the law."

Alongside support for a proscribed organisation, Saturday's 492 arrests included drunk and disorderly conduct, common assault, a public order offence and being wanted for an unrelated matter.

It also includes six people who were detained for unfurling a banner backing the proscribed group on Westminster Bridge.

The new powers, which will be brought forward as soon as possible, will allow senior officers to consider the ‘cumulative impact’ of previous protest activity. 

Speaking on the "inconsistency" of current laws, the Home Secretary said: "What's very clear to me, there is a need to amend the law".

The Home Secretary said she wanted to make it "absolutely explicit that when the police are placing restrictions or conditions on protests, they are allowed to take into account what we call cumulative disruption, that is to say, the number of protests by particular groups in particular places."

"Those are relevant factors for the police to take into account when they put conditions on where a protest can take place. I do think that that needs to be made explicit in the law.

"There is an inconsistency of practice at the moment, and making it absolutely clear that this is a relevant factor for the police to take into account, I think will strengthen the law," she continued.

The Home Secretary is set to also review existing legislation to ensure that powers are sufficient and being consistently applied.

This will include powers to ban protests outright, and will also include provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. 

The Government will make these changes by amending Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country. However, this freedom must be balanced with the freedom of their neighbours to live their lives without fear.

“Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to leave their homes. This has been particularly evident in relation to the considerable fear within the Jewish community, which has been expressed to me on many occasions in these recent difficult days.

“These changes mark an important step in ensuring we protect the right to protest while ensuring all feel safe in this country."

Saturday's protests saw most of the arrests take place in Trafalgar Square, where protesters held placards showing their support for Palestine Action.

The final total of 492 arrests included others made for being drunk and disorderly, common assault, a public order offence and being wanted for an unrelated matter.