Lords throws out Public Order Bill proposals
‘This is a crucial time to influence MPs to keep the positive changes that peers have made.’
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has said that it continues to be ‘seriously concerned’ about government attempts to ‘stifle voices of dissent’ and ‘undermine democracy’. The warnings came last week despite news that the House of Lords had thrown out key elements of the Public Order Bill aimed at stifling protest.
BYM welcomed the amendments but warned that they could still be rejected by MPs as the bill, which finished its passage through the Lords on 7 February, passes back to the Commons. ‘This is a crucial time to influence MPs to keep the positive changes that peers have made’, it said on the Quakers in Britain website.
During the Lords debates, the government was defeated on trying to introduce new police powers to restrict protests on the grounds that they might become disruptive. These have been permanently removed from the bill.
The House of Lords also rejected moves to allow Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs) to be imposed on a person who carried out (or helped someone else carry out) activities relating to at least two protests within five years, without conviction. Attempts to get SDPOs removed entirely failed. Suspicionless ‘stop and search’ was also rejected by peers.
Ahead of the debates, BYM urged peers to vote for positive changes to the bill, using a joint briefing convened by Liberty. BYM also signed a joint letter to Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, and another, about faith and belief, to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister.
Paul Parker, recording clerk of BYM, said: ‘We urge the government to consider that this bill undermines the ability of people of faith to follow the Light that illuminates the alert conscience.
‘Instead of punishing people who try to recognise and combat the evils that menace social and international life, the government should focus on the causes of the crises they highlight.’
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