The United Kingdom government has announced that police forces will soon gain expanded powers to place conditions on repeat protests, following a weekend in which nearly 500 demonstrators were arrested.
According to the Home Office, senior officers will now be permitted to consider the “cumulative impact” of previous demonstrations when deciding how to manage new ones.
This could allow police to direct organisers to hold protests in different locations if an area has already seen multiple gatherings.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the new powers do not amount to a ban on protests but are “about restrictions and conditions.”
Saturday’s demonstrations were held in opposition to the government’s decision to classify Palestine Action as a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Authorities had urged organisers to postpone the protests after two men were killed in an attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
Police had warned that resources would be stretched as officers across the UK were deployed to provide additional protection for hundreds of synagogues and Jewish community centres.
The Home Office said the new measures would be introduced “as soon as possible.” Under existing law, a protest march can only be banned entirely if there is a clear risk of serious public disorder.
The upcoming changes, however, will enable police to impose conditions on the timing, duration, or location of protests where there have been repeated demonstrations.
Mahmood stressed that while the right to protest remains vital, it must be weighed against the rights of others.
“This freedom must be balanced with the freedom of their neighbours to live their lives without fear,” she said, warning that repeated, large-scale protests can leave some communities, particularly Jewish residents, “feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to leave their homes.”
The Home Secretary said she was “very worried about the state of community relations in our country” and emphasised her responsibility to strengthen social cohesion.
“I know I, as the home secretary, have a responsibility to think about the action the government can take to strengthen our communities, to make sure people are well-integrated into our society,” she told Kuenssberg.
The government also confirmed that a broader review of protest legislation will take place to ensure existing powers are “sufficient and being applied consistently,” including the ability to ban protests outright.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch expressed support for the new measures but questioned why they had not been introduced earlier. She said the government “must prove to Jewish people it has their back.”
“We believe in free speech but that has to be within the bounds of the law, if protests are used to intimidate, to incite hatred then that is not protest,” Badenoch said on the BBC programme.
Asked about the weekend’s demonstrations, Mahmood responded, “I think just because you have a freedom doesn’t mean to say you have to use it at every moment of every day, those people could have just waited a day or two and given people the chance to grieve and process what has happened.”
Most of those arrested on Saturday were detained on suspicion of supporting the banned group Palestine Action.
Organisers Defend Our Juries said around 1,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square to oppose the ban and protest Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Following the government’s announcement, the group accused officials on social media of “silencing opposition” and “authoritarianism.”
Hundreds have been arrested since Palestine Action was outlawed by former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier in the summer, many for holding placards declaring support for the group.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International criticised the arrests, saying that detaining people for “peacefully sitting down and holding these signs” was an inappropriate use of police resources.
Saturday’s protest went ahead despite calls for it to be postponed following the killing of two men at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The victims, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were struck by a car driven by Jihad Al-Shamie, who then attempted to enter the synagogue before being shot dead by armed officers. Three others were injured in the attack.
Mahmood confirmed that “four people remained in custody on Sunday morning” in connection with the incident.
She will write to chief constables encouraging them to use all available powers to prevent and respond to disorder, while also thanking officers for their response to Thursday’s attack.
Police continue to work with the Community Security Trust, a charity dedicated to protecting Jewish people from antisemitism and terror threats, to reassure the community, the Home Office added.
Meanwhile, the Board of Deputies of British Jews is holding a commemorative event on Sunday ahead of the second anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
The Board welcomed the government’s move to bolster police powers, describing recent protests as “deeply irresponsible and offensive.”
