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Response to Public Order Act and proposed thresholds for the definition of ‘serious disruption’:

“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to a democratic society. It is guaranteed in UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998 and by Articles 10 (Freedom of Expression) and 11 (Freedom of Assembly) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“On 13 June, Parliament will debate the Government’s draft regulations to the Public Order Act 1986 that could curtail this right. The draft regulations attempt to reintroduce thresholds for the definition of ‘serious disruption’ that Parliament itself rejected as recently as February during the passage of the Public Order Act 2023. The EHRC published a briefing on these provisions in January.

“These measures could fundamentally change the way in which peaceful protests are policed. We urge Parliament to subject them to detailed scrutiny, as they did earlier this year.”

“We have also written to the Home Secretary to ask that the Government take steps to ensure that the police, in enforcing of the Public Order Act 2023, do not unduly limit freedom of expression nor infringe the right to peaceful protest, and that all police officers understand their fundamental duty to act in a way that is compatible with the human rights of everyone involved.”

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