© Provided by The GuardianPhotograph: Matt Dunham/AP
Protesters are rallying in central London and 24 other towns and cities in England and Wales on Saturday against a crime bill that critics say will severely restrict the right to stage demonstrations.
The police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which passed its second reading in parliament last month, will modify existing public order legislation to make it easier for police to ban or shut down peaceful protests if they are considered too disruptive or likely to lead to disorder.
Opponents of the bill have called it an attack on the right to protest and a step towards authoritarianism. They warn that in conjunction with new laws giving agents of the state licence to commit crimes while undercover and changes to the judicial system, the balance of power is being tipped towards the authorities, eroding individual freedoms.
© APDemonstrators hold posters during a 'Kill the Bill' protest in London, Saturday, April 3, 2021. The demonstration is against the contentious Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is currently going through Parliament and would give police stronger powers to restrict protests. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Police in London have warned people against joining rallies, writing in an open letter posted online that anyone who attends a gathering that breaches coronavirus regulations may be committing an offence.
Aside from London, protests rallying under the slogan "Kill the bill" are expected in Aberystwyth, Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Derby, Exeter, Folkestone, Kendal, Lancaster, Lincoln, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth and Portsmouth.
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The latest demonstrations come after police in Bristol were condemned for crackdowns on three protests against the bill last month, with officers in riot gear and dogs sent in to clear the streets three times in the city in the space of a week.
© GettyFile: Protestors chant their opposition to the proposed new law as activists gather for a Kill the Bill protest at Finsbury park on April 2, 2021 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
Covid regulations have since been relaxed and protests are now lawful in England and Wales, providing protest organisers make a risk assessment and take steps to limit the potential transmission of coronavirus.
Protesters in London are expected to gather at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park from 1pm. Among the expected speakers are Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour MPs Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Apsana Begum, Clive Lewis and Zarah Sultana, and the civil rights campaigners Peter Tatchell and Lee Jasper.
Representatives of UK Black Lives Matter, All Black Lives, Global Majority, Extinction Rebellion, and the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are also expected to speak.
© GettyFile: A protester holding a placard saying "Loud Proud Women Got us The Vote - Kill The Bill' standing next to a policeman during a Kill the Bill demonstration outside Finsbury Park in north London in opposition to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 that is currently before Parliament. (Photo by Steve Taylor/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Addressing the reasons for the protest in a video posted on Twitter on Friday, Corbyn said: "The right to protest is precious. Protest movements make history, from the eight-hour working day, to the vote for women, to the right for equal pay, the rights we take for granted had to be won through protest. We took them; they weren't handed to us by the rich and powerful.
"From opposing apartheid to the Iraq war, I'm proud to have protested against injustice and defended the right to itself. That right, which gives a voice to those often unheard is once again under threat from a dangerous bill which effectively criminalises peaceful protest."