Home secretary says police can consider ‘cumulative impact’ of demonstrations as Palestine Action ban opponents vow ‘escalation’
Civil liberty groups have expressed concern over government plans to hand police greater powers to restrict protests as organisers of mass demonstrations against the banning of Palestine Action pledged a “major escalation” of their campaign.
Shabana Mahmood said on Sunday that repeated large-scale demonstrations over Gaza had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community in the wake of a fatal terror attack on a synagogue last week.
Under new powers, police will be able to impose tougher conditions on static protests or marches by taking account of the “cumulative impact” of previous similar demonstrations, she said.
Following her statement, the pressure group Defend Our Juries promised to escalate the demonstrations in support of Palestine Action over 10 days in November. “The home secretary’s extraordinary new affront to our democracy will only fuel the growing backlash to the ban,” a spokesperson said.
