Some thoughts.
The right to protest is the lifeblood of democracy.
During this deadly pandemic, every aspect of our social lives has been affected, and it is right that a deadly infectious virus will make us protest differently, as it makes us work and socialise differently.
The right to protest is the lifeblood of democracy.
During this deadly pandemic, every aspect of our social lives has been affected, and it is right that a deadly infectious virus will make us protest differently, as it makes us work and socialise differently.
https://twitter.com/adamwagner1/status/1370450075449708544
But.
Protest has never been explicitly banned by Parliament, even during the lockdown.
The problem is that police forces have behaved as if it is has.
It is unacceptable that police have exercised this kind of authority without explicit authorisation from Parliament.
Protest has never been explicitly banned by Parliament, even during the lockdown.
The problem is that police forces have behaved as if it is has.
It is unacceptable that police have exercised this kind of authority without explicit authorisation from Parliament.
The police cannot be the gatekeepers of our rights to protest. They are not fit for that task for many reasons.
This issue has come to head because of the devastating death of Sarah Everard.
Women such as @ReclaimTS who want to express solidarity in socially distanced vigils have been banned from doing so by the very police force which may bear some responsibility for her death.
Women such as @ReclaimTS who want to express solidarity in socially distanced vigils have been banned from doing so by the very police force which may bear some responsibility for her death.
This has brought into sharp relief the damage which unclear Covid rules on protest can have to our democratic rights.
The Prime Minister has expressed sympathy for the vigils.
But we need more than words.
His government bears responsibility for the unclear Covid rules.
The Prime Minister has expressed sympathy for the vigils.
But we need more than words.
His government bears responsibility for the unclear Covid rules.
It is essential that his government fixes this problem.
As we have seen, the health secretary can, by the flick of his pen, change the Covid regulations.
He has done so 70 times in less than a year.
As we have seen, the health secretary can, by the flick of his pen, change the Covid regulations.
He has done so 70 times in less than a year.
He could, on Monday, reinsert the socially distanced protest exception into the gatherings rules which already exists in previous versions.
The right to protest is not being protected (and is being obstructed) by the police.
It must be restored by the government.
The right to protest is not being protected (and is being obstructed) by the police.
It must be restored by the government.
Also, members of Parliament bear some of the blame here.
They have become too supine during the past year and have allowed the government to control lockdown criminal laws with no effective scrutiny.
It is high time they took back control.
They have become too supine during the past year and have allowed the government to control lockdown criminal laws with no effective scrutiny.
It is high time they took back control.
The @metpoliceuk had repeated opportunities in recent days to agree a path forward. After the hearing on Friday when the High Court made clear protests (or vigils) could not be automatically unlawful, there was a window to agree some version of the vigil. They refused.
The @metpoliceuk had the advantage of a supremely responsible group of organisers - a number of of whom are local councillors (I worked with them intensively over 2 days and was hugely impressed). They could have worked together to do this responsibly. Instead look what happened
Police have a legal duty under the human rights act to facilitate lawful protest. They knew that whatever they did people would be there. But rather than being seen to lose face as they had interpreted the law wrong (that protest is automatically unlawful), they doubled down
New legal opinion just published
https://twitter.com/reclaimts/status/1370838667925786626
Nottingham police get it
https://twitter.com/tannerruth/status/1370823175240626178
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