Minister Will Have To Draw Up New Bill To Force Through ‘Dangerous' Protest Laws

The government will have to draw up a new bill to bring in protest laws backed by Priti Patel, following a series of humiliating defeats in the House of Lords. Peers stripped some of the most controversial clauses out of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill after the government attempted to add them at a late stage of scrutiny.

- Lizzie Dearden

Defeated plans to give police the power to stop and search peaceful protesters without suspicion, make “locking on” an offence and create protest banning orders had not been debated by MPs. A proposed offence of disrupting key national infrastructure, including airports and newspaper printers, was also voted down.

The unprecedented measures were tabled as government amendments to the bill in November, following a wave of disruptive Insulate Britain protests, sparking allegations that ministers were trying to dodge parliamentary scrutiny. The House of Lords rejected several of the late amendments, meaning they cannot be kept as part of the PCSC Bill and would have to be introduced in a separate law.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, urged the government to “think again” on its plans, which have sparked nationwide protests. She said there had been “deep concern” among all parties, including some Conservatives, over “lastminute amendments that were so broad they would even allow people walking past a peaceful protest to be stopped and searched”.