Alarm over minister's plan to give police more anti-protest powers

Civil liberty groups hit out at crackdown on mass demonstrations

- Peter Walker Ben Quinn Rajeev Syal

Civil liberty groups expressed concern yesterday over government plans to hand police greater powers to restrict protests as organisers of mass demonstrations against the banning of Palestine Action pledged a “major escalation” of their campaign.

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, said yesterday that repeated large-scale demonstrations over Gaza had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community since the terrorist attack on a synagogue last week. Under new powers, police would be able to impose tougher conditions on static protests or marches by taking account of the “cumulative impact” of previous similar demonstrations, she said.

Following her statement, the pressure group Defend Our Juries promised to escalate the demonstrations in support of Palestine Action over 10 days in November.

“The home secretary’s extraordinary new affront to our democracy will only fuel the growing backlash to the ban,” a spokesperson said.

The measures were announced after nearly 500 people were arrested in London at the weekend for expressing support for Palestine Action.

Jewish community leaders, police and Keir Starmer had called on Palestine Action protesters to refrain from demonstrating after Thursday's killing of two people in the terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue.

Mahmood will also look at all anti-protest laws, with the possibility that powers to ban some demonstrations outright could be strengthened.

Shami Chakrabarti, the Labour peer and former shadow attorney general, warned that the government should pause before passing draconian powers that could end up in the hands of a Nigel Farage-led government.

“Street protest that isn’t a bit of a nuisance isn’t usually effective. But any government seeking to further restrict it should think about new powers in Faragist hands,” she said.