PRITI Patel will tell MPs that “we do not make policy through mob rule in this country” as she urges them to give their support to the widely criticised new Public Order Bill.
It represents the Home Secretary’s most recent attempt to reintroduce measures which had previously been blocked by the House of Lords as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
Such measures include introducing a new offence of obstructing major transport networks, which carries a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both.
Interfering with key national infrastructure – such as railways, roads and printing presses – will also become a criminal offence, which would bring a penalty of up to 12 months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. Patel will give a speech on the proposed Bill as she opens the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons tomorrow.
The Home Secretary is expected to say to MPs: “From day one, this Government has put the safety and interests of the law-abiding majority first... but recently we have seen a rise in criminal, disruptive, and self-defeating tactics – from a supremely selfish minority. Their actions divert police resources away from the communities where they are needed most... and we are seeing parts of the country grind to a halt... This is reprehensible behaviour and I will not tolerate it.”
As part of the Bill, police will also be given the power to proactively stop and search people to seize items intended for “locking-on” purposes, such as glue or bamboo structures meant for obstructing police. Courts will also be given new powers to make Serious Disruption Prevention Orders, which would make those who have been found to repeatedly cause disruption wear an electronic tag, to ensure they are not in a particular place where they might commit a “protest-related offence”.
Norman Reimer, the chief executive of the group Fair Trials, said: “By reintroducing plans that have already been rejected, the UK Government appears to be intent on destroying the right to peaceful protest rather than protecting it.”
