Faith leaders argue law change would undermine right to protest

A bunch of 19 faith leaders have signed an open letter in opposition to the “cumulative disruption” clause within the Crime and Policing Bill, arguing that it could undermine the fitting to peaceful protest.

The government says that the brand new clause is aimed toward tackling the issues caused to local communities by repeated protests. In particular the law appears to be aimed toward tackling frequent pro-Palestine marches, with the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, arguing that they cause “fear inside the Jewish community”.

She argues, “The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country. However, this freedom have to be balanced with the liberty of their neighbours to live their lives without fear. Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to depart their homes. 

“This has been particularly evident in relation to the considerable fear inside the Jewish community, which has been expressed to me on many occasions in these recent difficult days. These changes mark a crucial step in ensuring we protect the fitting to protest while ensuring all feel protected on this country.”

The proposals were recommend in October, with the federal government also citing one protest wherein 500 people were arrested for supporting the now banned group, Palestine Action.

In their open letter, the religion leaders argued that the brand new clause is “vague and broad, meaning that it could affect an enormous range of protests”.

“It could mean that we’re stopped from demonstrating because one other protest previously took place in the identical area, even when it was on a very different issue,” they wrote. 

The letter was signed by Mike Royal, General Secretary of Churches Together in England, Rev Lynn Green, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, in addition to representatives of other Christian denominations and the Jewish and Muslim communities.