Interested to see how the @metpoliceuk police this. In the current lockdown they seem to have been treating protest as essentially banned. I think that is legally wrong. Outdoor socially distanced protest should be permitted under the Covid regulations.
https://twitter.com/reclaimts/status/1369733321303994373
In the circumstances, the @metpoliceuk should confirm publicly that the protest will be permitted. However, if they do, it will be an exception to the policy they seem to have applied through the rest of the lockdown. This shows the problem with the policy.
The police should never be in the position of deciding which causes they prefer to permit to protest. Anyway, watch this space for more on that
On the law, the current lockdown regulations Prohibits gatherings of more than two people except in certain exceptions. Protest is currently not a listed exception, but it is also not banned. My view is if Parliament wanted to ban protest it would have to do it explicitly (1/3)
and the police have to, as a public authority, interpret the regulations compatibly with the Human Rights Act which, unlike the lockdown regulations, is primary legislation. This includes the right to freedom of assembly under Article 11 ECHR. This should mean at the least (2/3)
that socially distanced outdoor protest (does not pose significant risk in public health terms) is lawful as it would be a ‘reasonable excuse’ and therefore a defence to breaking the gathering rule. Regulations here - this is not legal advice! legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1374… (3/3)
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