Members of the climate action group Extinction Rebellion gathered outside Newcastle Police station to rally against the Government's controversial new crime bill on Tuesday, which aims to clamp down on disruptive and noisy protesters.
Around 20 demonstrators were spotted outside Forth Banks Police Station with banners just after 7.30pm.
The XR members brought speakers and pots and pans to the evening protest, and were heard chanting "Kill the Bill" and "this is what democracy looks like".
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The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill (PCSC) is a huge piece of legislation that covers major proposed changes on crime and justice in England and Wales.
Some of the most controversial parts include planned changes to protests - which the government proposed in response to environmental activists who have blocked roads, glued themselves to trains and stopped printing presses in recent years.
A number of the Bill's clauses were stripped out by the House of Lords on Monday night, but demonstrators in Newcastle said they 'aren't going away' as it re-enters the commons
The House of Lords defeated plans to give police the power to stop and search peaceful protesters without suspicion and make “locking on” an offence, after the government attempted to add them at a late stage of scrutiny.
A proposed offence for disrupting key national infrastructure, including airports and newspaper printers, was also voted down.
At Tueday's protest environmental campaigner and student Chris Riches, 20, said: "Given the defeat in the Lords - we have won part of our battle terms of the new amendments added.
"But the bill without the amendments is still an assault on democracy - especially the part clamping down on 'serious annoyance'. It is a vague term that will be defined after the bill passed, so we need to protest now as it re-enters the commons."
He had arrived in the city centre following a plea hearing at South Tyneside Magistrates court, where he and fellow XR members pleaded not guilty to aggravated trespass for their blockade of Amazon's Gateshead depot on Black Friday.
Another member of XR, bartender Lloyd Mitchell, said he was at the protest "to defend the right to demonstrate" because "our liberties are at risk".
He continued: "Although there have been amendments by the House of Lords, we are tip-toeing towards a police state. And in this fractured political climate, we need to stand together and engage.
"XR believe in civil disobedience because we feel the normal ways of protesting, with placards and marches, can't bring about change as quickly as it's needed.
"People have been crying out for climate justice for years - and it feels like this bill is specifically targeting people who want change."
Andy from Gateshead, another member of the environmental group, said: "We've seen a real victory in the Lords, as many amendments were shot down, but unfortunately those were just the icing on the cake for Priti Patel's nasty bill."
He said the group had chosen the police station to protest, because they think it's "important that people recognise that the police are going to be the ones who have to implement these rules, but also that some of these rules came at their request.
"We want the police to understand that we aren't happy about some of the changes to the law they are requesting, which will give them almost extraordinary powers.
"For example, we disagree with a section that would make it a criminal offence to reside in a vehicle on land without permission, because it's an attack on the Gypsy/ Roma way of life."
Responding to the comments made regarding police powers, a spokesperson from the National Police Chiefs Council referred the Chronicle to a comment made by the lead for Policing Protests, Chief Constable Chris Noble.
He said: “We have consistently stressed the need for legislation and powers that are clear, current and capable of being enforced.
"We have engaged with the Home Office for some time now to ensure we have the powers to enable us to prevent crime and disorder. Much of the current public order related legislation is over 30 years old and protest related activity is dynamic and constantly changing.
“Policing is not anti-protest, but it is pro-responsibility and for having due regards for the rights of others. The ability to protest peacefully in a democracy is important but it is also important there are consequences for those who break the law and significantly impact on the lives and livelihoods of others.
“Ultimately, of course, the making of the law is a matter for politicians and the interpretation of the law, a matter for the courts. Too often the police service find itself in the middle of competing rights and not in communities preventing crime and protecting the most vulnerable.
“We will work with the government to consider how any new powers can be used in practice in a proportionate and consistent way.”
Meanwhile, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Freedom to protest is a fundamental right, but current laws to manage highly disruptive protests are out of date and not fit for purpose.
“The new measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill are designed to tackle the selfish minority of protesters who are highly disruptive and whose actions endanger the public.
"It is not acceptable, as seen in recent protests, for people to block ambulances from reaching hospitals or preventing hundreds of people getting to work.”
A Force spokesperson from Northumbria Police said: “Shortly before 7.30pm on Tuesday a small number of protesters gathered outside Forth Banks Police Station.
“The protest passed without incident and concluded after about one hour."
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