Rishi Sunak is drawing up powers for the police to stop “go-slow” protests in a further crackdown on people’s right to demonstrate.
The prime minister said the proposals would be set out in the coming weeks to prevent “a small minority” from disrupting the lives of the “hard-working majority”.
Some fuel protesters have this year changed tactics to include slowing traffic to a crawling pace by carrying out walking protests through cities including London. Just Stop Oil and anti-fuel tax protesters have used the strategy after the government introduced laws to stop other forms of “pop-up” demonstrations.
Parliament has already passed the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and is considering the public order bill, which were both intended to restrict disruptive protests.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said “legislative powers or guidance” could be passed shortly: “We want the police to have the requisite powers and that includes ensuring that when people are significantly disrupting the public’s everyday lives, the police can act.”
They added: “There is additional legislation moving through the house already that provides further power, but we have seen new tactics emerge, evolve – in part because of the tougher powers we’ve introduced. So it’s important we continually look at making sure the police have any powers, and certainly any clarity they need, to act.
“We have seen protests move to slow-walking protests. The government fully respects people’s rights to protest and to demonstrate and we will always protect that but equally there needs to be a balance struck.”
Earlier, Sunak wrote on the ConservativeHome website that disruptive protests were “not right and we’re going to put a stop to it”.
He said: “We cannot and will not have protests conducted by a small minority disrupting the lives of the hard-working majority, preventing a mother taking their kids to school or cancer patients attending their hospital appointments. It’s not right and we’re going to put a stop to it.”
Ministers are expected to introduce secondary legislation in parliament that will set out a statutory definition of “serious disruption”.
It follows claims by police chiefs that the uncertainty over what is legally defined as serious disruption has prevented them from intervening for fear of exposing officers to legal challenges and compensation claims for breaching protest laws.
Just Stop Oil activists in December led go-slow walking protests in London during rush hour, blocking three lanes of traffic on both sides of the A2 in Southwark, south London, before launching another blockade at Bank in the City.
In the summer, an anti-fuel duty group calling itself Fuel Price Stand Against Tax organised driving go-slow protests on several busy motorways.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 set out serious disruption as that preventing an “organisation” from carrying out its activities for “a prolonged period” within the vicinity of a protest. It did, however, give the home secretary delegated powers to further define the meaning in secondary legislation.
Just Stop Oil has been approached for a comment.
