Thread by @allthecitizens

🚨NEW: The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is back in the Commons today, as disputes over the amendments on the right to protest continue to ‘ping-pong’ between the two houses throughout the week:
bills.parliament.uk/bills/2839/sta…

On 28 Feb, MPs voted to reinstate the Bill, in an attempt to overturn amendments suggested by the Lords after the initial reading.

Government disagreed with proposed amendments, notably those looking to alter restrictions it would place on protest rights.

https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1483029614431723520?s=20&t=vPCRtBS66iV2RrOb8_qV8Q

Critics have called the Bill “draconian”, saying It hobbles rights to free and peacefully assembly by giving police powers to intervene if an event is deemed to be too noisy or cause “annoyance”
nme.com/news/amnesty-u…

They’ve argued that the terms of the Bill would grant sweeping powers to discourage legitimate protest action, highlighting the fact that protests are, by their very nature, disruptive events that are designed to draw attention.
cityam.com/explainer-in-b…

The Bill is seen by many as an effort to change laws to attack disruptive - and effective - forms of protest by groups like #InsulateBritain, but the proposed powers may have serious ramifications for all protests, like last weekend's march for Ukraine.
mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…

Ukrainian protestors themselves have criticised the Bill, saying it would silence them, and groups like Black Lives Matter and XR have signed an open letter condemning its passage. Amnesty International have refered to the legislation as 'dystopian'.

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1500232511556931587?s=20&t=vPCRtBS66iV2RrOb8_qV8Q

The proposed Bill comes at a time when the police are facing deep scrutiny for their conduct across the board, not least at recent protest events...

A new report from @openDemocracy highlights how UK Forces spent £18 milion on informants from 2015-2021, but refused to say whether they'd spend money buying off anti-racism activists:
opendemocracy.net/en/uk-police-s…

and during the #KillTheBill protests earlier this year, which take aim at the Bill directly, Police were said to be unfairly punishing people, as dozens were charged with riot offences in one of the biggest uses of the 'riot' charge since the 1980s:
theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/f…

MPs will discuss the legislation and amendments today, with it being kicked back to the Lords on Thursday:
parliament.uk/business/news/…

action.greenpeace.org.uk/righttoprotest…