The British government acted unlawfully by changing the law to give police greater powers to crack down on street protests, a judge ruled on Tuesday.
Civil liberties group Liberty launched a legal challenge to the amendment, which campaigners claimed gave police “nearly unlimited” powers to restrict protests. .
Right-wing outspokenness pushed change. Suella Braverman He was the Home Secretary. She had repeatedly promised to use so-called “guerrilla tactics” to crack down on protesters.
This was followed by actions by environmental groups, notably Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, with protesters glued or body-pasted to roads and buildings.
The Liberty Party's objection focused on powers given to the Home Secretary by Parliament to amend current law on when police can intervene during protests to prevent “serious” widespread disorder.
Two judges ruled that the lawmakers did not intend to lower the standard of police conduct toward protesters. However, the amendments allow police to target anything deemed to be “more than minor” disturbances.
The High Court's ruling added that the government only consulted law enforcement agencies before enacting the changes.
“For the process to be fair and balanced, the government should have at least obtained the views of those who might be adversely affected by the proposed measures,” the judges added.
Liberty newspaper called the ruling a “victory for democracy” and said it “provides an important indicator that the government can't just do what it wants.”
Mr Braverman, who was sacked for his comments on immigration, initially sought to give greater powers to the police through a parliamentary vote on new policing legislation.
Lawmakers rejected those proposals and, months later, secured powers “through the back door” through secondary legislation that allows ministers to amend existing laws, Liberty said.
The government said on Tuesday it would appeal the ruling after advisers on political violence recommended drastic measures to curb the protests.
In his report, former Labor MP John Woodcock proposed making organizers pay for the costs of policing demonstrations and making it easier for the public to claim compensation from activist groups responsible for causing disruption.
He also recommended a complete ban on face coverings to prevent protests and demonstrations from taking place in buffer zones around MPs' constituency offices.
Current Home Secretary James Cleverley said in a written statement to Parliament that he would carefully consider the proposals, including “amending the criteria to prevent protests from proceeding”.
Protests have become a major political issue in Britain, with right-wing MPs regularly criticizing large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations against the Israeli-Hamas war.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak intends to put security and the fight against extremism at the heart of the Conservative Party's general election campaign later this year.
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