Police to Get Powers to Ban Masks at Protests as Starmer's Government Accused of 'Copy and Pasting' Conservative Plans
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New police powers to ban facemasks being worn at protests would hit disabled activists, dissidents and Muslim women, a human rights group has warned.
The Crime and Policing Bill being proposed by Keir Starmer's Government and making its way through Parliament now rehashes many of the same proposals put forward in the Conservatives' Criminal Justice Bill before it ran out of time ahead of the General Election.
Police would gain expanded powers to impose bans on wearing face-coverings at protests. The new powers would affect Muslim women wearing niqabs, disabled activists avoiding infection, and dissidents protesting outside foreign embassies, according to campaign group Liberty.
While there would be legal exemptions to protect those covering their faces for religious or health reasons, this defence would only be available after arrest. In other words, plenty of people would be caught up and arrested before being released without charge.
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Liberty says it would add another chilling effect to peaceful protest in the UK, following several major pieces of strict legislation in recent years - the Conservatives' Public Order Act and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, neither of which the Government plans to repeal.
Once the conditions are put on a particular protest, police could compel anyone covering their face to remove that covering at that point, and then if they don't comply, they can be arrested.
In an interview with Byline Times, Ruth Ehrlich, Head of Policy & Campaigns at Liberty, said: "When you think about the kinds of people who might rely on a face covering to take to the streets, we're thinking of dissidents who are protesting outside foreign embassies. We're thinking about Muslim women who might wear the niqab to cover her face. We're thinking about disabled activists who want to stay healthy and avoid infection."
"We have seen in recent months arrests happening outside the Chinese Embassy…It's very difficult when you start dictating how people can and cannot protect themselves at a protest, and the message that that sends to them - and to the regimes that they're protesting against," she added.
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Police will also be given broader powers to shut down protests near religious buildings, imposing orders which could effectively ban demonstrations from even going near churches, mosques, or synagogues if an order was in place. "In most cities, towns, villages, there will be places of worship near a protest. When you introduce a power as broad as that, does that effectively mean there's a risk that protests will be shut down because of that," Ehrlich told Byline Times.
And junior officers will be allowed to be authorised to impose protest conditions. Under the bill, chief officers would be able to delegate powers to relatively low-ranking officers to impose restrictions on large demonstrations, removing previous safeguards around seniority.
British Transport Police will also gain expanded protest powers, with new authority to impose stop and search, demand the removal of face coverings at protests, and impose tough conditions on assembly at transport hubs, stations, and for people on the move.
Ehrlich said much of the Crime and Policing bill was "c...
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New police powers to ban facemasks being worn at protests would hit disabled activists, dissidents and Muslim women, a human rights group has warned.
The Crime and Policing Bill being proposed by Keir Starmer's Government and making its way through Parliament now rehashes many of the same proposals put forward in the Conservatives' Criminal Justice Bill before it ran out of time ahead of the General Election.
Police would gain expanded powers to impose bans on wearing face-coverings at protests. The new powers would affect Muslim women wearing niqabs, disabled activists avoiding infection, and dissidents protesting outside foreign embassies, according to campaign group Liberty.
While there would be legal exemptions to protect those covering their faces for religious or health reasons, this defence would only be available after arrest. In other words, plenty of people would be caught up and arrested before being released without charge.
Don't miss a story
SIGN UP TO EMAIL UPDATES
Liberty says it would add another chilling effect to peaceful protest in the UK, following several major pieces of strict legislation in recent years - the Conservatives' Public Order Act and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, neither of which the Government plans to repeal.
Once the conditions are put on a particular protest, police could compel anyone covering their face to remove that covering at that point, and then if they don't comply, they can be arrested.
In an interview with Byline Times, Ruth Ehrlich, Head of Policy & Campaigns at Liberty, said: "When you think about the kinds of people who might rely on a face covering to take to the streets, we're thinking of dissidents who are protesting outside foreign embassies. We're thinking about Muslim women who might wear the niqab to cover her face. We're thinking about disabled activists who want to stay healthy and avoid infection."
"We have seen in recent months arrests happening outside the Chinese Embassy…It's very difficult when you start dictating how people can and cannot protect themselves at a protest, and the message that that sends to them - and to the regimes that they're protesting against," she added.
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Receive the monthly Byline Times newspaper and help to support fearless, independent journalism that breaks stories, shapes the agenda and holds power to account.
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We're not funded by a billionaire oligarch or an offshore hedge-fund. We rely on our readers to fund our journalism. If you like what we do, please subscribe.
Police will also be given broader powers to shut down protests near religious buildings, imposing orders which could effectively ban demonstrations from even going near churches, mosques, or synagogues if an order was in place. "In most cities, towns, villages, there will be places of worship near a protest. When you introduce a power as broad as that, does that effectively mean there's a risk that protests will be shut down because of that," Ehrlich told Byline Times.
And junior officers will be allowed to be authorised to impose protest conditions. Under the bill, chief officers would be able to delegate powers to relatively low-ranking officers to impose restrictions on large demonstrations, removing previous safeguards around seniority.
British Transport Police will also gain expanded protest powers, with new authority to impose stop and search, demand the removal of face coverings at protests, and impose tough conditions on assembly at transport hubs, stations, and for people on the move.
Ehrlich said much of the Crime and Policing bill was "c...
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