Policing Bill Response

I want to thank the many constituents who have contacted me about the Government’s Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill.

I am opposed to this Bill and I voted against it at every opportunity in the House of Commons.

I believe the measures in the Bill relating to protests and public order are ill-judged, ill thought-out and nothing short of a curtailment of the right to protest; their passage into law would be a profound mistake.

During consideration of the Bill in the House of Commons on 5 July 2021, I voted for an amendment that would have removed the measures relating to protests.

Unfortunately, the Government successfully blocked the amendment by 354 to 273 votes. We already have the Public Order Act 1986, along with other existing powers, to police protests.

I think these strike a careful balance between the legitimate right to peacefully protests and the need to keep order.

As we know, protests tend to be noisy.

Unbelievably, the Government’s Bill includes “serious unease” caused by “the noise generated by persons taking part” as a reason to warrant significantly expanded police-imposed conditions.

The Bill also makes it an offence to breach police-imposed conditions where a person “ought to know” about them, potentially criminalising those unaware of the conditions in the first place.

I believe the Government’s proposals would have long-lasting consequences.

The right to protest is extremely precious and one of our proudest democratic traditions. It is only right that our laws do not, and should never, seek to shield those in power from public criticism and public protest.

The bill will also introduce Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs), which would allow police officers to stop and search people with an SVRO without reasonable grounds and without authorisation.

In my view, it is very hard to be persuaded that more sweeping powers to stop and search people with previous convictions will reduce serious violence.

I am concerned that there is little evidence that this will be effective.

The Government recently tabled last-minute amendments to the Bill in the House of Lords.

I am pleased that Opposition peers were successful in removing these last-minute amendments from the Bill and it was striking how few Government peers turned up to defend them.

It is disappointing that the Government has undermined many of the good measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill by coupling them up with divisive and draconian measures such as those relating to protests.

I believe tackling crime and violence against women should be the focus of this Bill and I will continue to argue for a better approach.