'Right to protest must be respected'

BRITAIN’S human rights watchdog has warned against “heavy-handed policing” which it said risks a “chilling effect” on protest rights amid demonstrations about the war in Gaza.

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The Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to remind them that the “right to protest is a cornerstone of any healthy democracy”.

The letter, from EHRC chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner, raised concerns about “reports of police engagement with individuals participating in forms of protest that are not linked to any proscribed organisation”.