The British people are sick of selfish protesters. Whether it’s stupid stunts at the snooker, rugby and Grand National, blocking roads or slow-walking, the rest of us have had enough.
Grown-ups understand that we can’t always get our way. We also know that policy decisions should be made democratically, not through mob rule. And being willing to ruin someone else’s day doesn’t prove that you’re passionate about your cause. It just means you’re selfish.
This Government has already given the police greater powers to combat dangerous and disruptive protests. The Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act has a raft of measures, including custodial sentences for obstruction of the highway.
The Public Order Act, which has just been passed by Parliament, introduces criminal offences for causing serious disruption. It created a new criminal offence for interfering with key national infrastructure, such as roads, airports, and railways – and perpetrators will face up to 12 months behind bars.
It is now illegal to ‘lock-on’ to others, objects, or buildings, with a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine. The police will also be able to carry out stop-and-search when they believe protesters are setting out to commit criminal offences which will inflict serious disruption. And Serious Disruption Prevention Orders can be imposed on repeat offenders.
Grown-ups understand that we can’t always get our way. We also know that policy decisions should be made democratically, not through mob rule. And being willing to ruin someone else’s day doesn’t prove that you’re passionate about your cause. It just means you’re selfish SUELLA BRAVERMAN writes
Sadly, a selfish minority are finding new ways to cause havoc and misery. That is deeply unfair on the law-abiding majority, who must be able to go about their lives freely and should not have to clear disruptive protesters out of the way themselves.
Not that this is a concern for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. They have taken £1.5 million in donations from a ‘green businessman’ who bankrolls these selfish protesters.
Sir Keir publicly claims to be on the side of hard-working Britons whose lives are disrupted by this mob. Instead, behind the scenes, he’s taking bundles of cash from one of their biggest donors. It’s the same old Labour Party – soft on crime and soft on criminals. They’re in the pocket of Just Stop Oil.
We WILL not tolerate self-indulgent criminal behaviour. It goes well beyond annoyance and irritation. The disruptors don’t care that other people have lives to lead and duties to undertake.
Regular people have jobs to go to, for one thing. And stopping someone from getting to the hospital is despicable. It’s no wonder that tempers have flared.
Nor can we ignore how much time and money disruptive protests cause. The Metropolitan Police made 634 arrests for obstruction of the highway between October and December last year. In 2022, Just Stop Oil protests cost the police more than £14.5 million.
The current Just Stop Oil slow-walk campaign has seen 124 such demonstrations. It has taken up more than 12,500 police officer shifts, costing millions of pounds and diverting them away from other activities.Â
The Metropolitan Police made 634 arrests for obstruction of the highway between October and December last year. In 2022, Just Stop Oil protests cost the police more than £14.5 million
The current Just Stop Oil slow-walk campaign has seen 124 such demonstrations. It has taken up more than 12,500 police officer shifts, costing millions of pounds and diverting them away from other activities
Police chiefs told me they needed more clarity about what counts as ‘serious disruption’ – so we are introducing a new legal definition. The National Police Chiefs’ Council, the Met Police and other forces have all welcomed this. The law will be straightforward and officers will know they can clear roads quickly and tackle ‘slow-walking’ protest tactics.
The police will be able to consider the effect of repeated or multiple protests in the same area. They will be able to consider how much disruption a specific protest will cause. For example, just because there are often traffic jams in a particular area doesn’t mean a protest will be allowed to cause its own traffic jam. The police will be able to consider the impact on anyone who might be affected, not just those who live or work in the area.
Those who say we are restricting freedom of speech have it backwards. The vast majority of protests in England and Wales are peaceful and cause limited, if any, disruption. Civilised protests will be unaffected. I make no apology for taking the fight to this selfish mob and putting the law-abiding majority first.
