Thread by @libertyhq

🚨The #PolicingBill is back TOMORROW🚨

Protest isn't a gift from the State - it's OUR RIGHT

But Gov wants to criminalise noisy protests

Noise is at the heart of protest

The House of Lords must continue to stand up for protest rights + reject this plan

https://twitter.com/DaveJMulcahy/status/1505822430245396485

Protest is a core pillar of our democracy, but the #PolicingBill risks criminalising people who take to the streets for a cause they believe in, from racial justice campaigners to people trying to save their local library.

Back in Jan the House of Lords removed some of the worst anti-protest measures from the #PolicingBill, but the Government has reinserted police powers to place noise-based conditions on demonstrations.

This means that if a protest is ‘too noisy’, police can crack down on it by ordering people present to either do or not do certain things, and they will commit an offence if they don’t follow those orders.

Noise is at the very heart of protest.

It is *LITERALLY* how we make ourselves heard

Considering the noise of a demo may be the result of the number of people attending, it’s likely that the largest protests that really demonstrate the strength of feeling on an issue will be prime targets.

The trigger for using the power is that police reasonably believe the noise may (so doesn’t need to actually) “have a significant and relevant impact on persons in the vicinity”.

This is immeasurable.

And the “relevant impact” can include causing “serious unease, alarm or distress”.

This could lead to ridiculous situations where eg police shut down kiss-ins protesting homophobic establishments, if they “reasonably believe” it “may” make someone nearby feel “uneasy”.

This proposal is a clear attack on the fundamental right to protest and must be stopped.

@UKHouseofLords must continue to stand up for democracy and protest rights and kick it out of the #PolicingBill again tomorrow.