What to know about ‘authoritarian’ new plans to deter disruptive demonstrations

Good morning. The government’s attempts to clamp down on “disruptive” demonstrations in recent years seem not to have deterred activists thus far. Since the crackdown began in 2022 protesters have: vandalised art with soup, paint, safety hammers and glue; scaled war memorials and government buildings; toppled statues; glued themselves to roads in front of traffic; tunnelled underneath railways; and chained themselves to bridges. In response, ministers have bemoaned demonstrators who they view as “selfish” and “wreaking havoc in people’s everyday lives”.

Now, after months of near weekly demonstrations in support of Palestine, the Home Office has announced a new series of measures as part of the criminal justice bill to deter protesters from taking to the streets. Police will be given the power to arrest anyone wearing face coverings at specific demonstrations, climbing on war memorials or in possession of flares and fireworks at protests, with up to three months in jail for some of these new crimes.

Human rights campaigners and civil rights groups have criticised the measures, insisting that the public’s right to protest needs to protected. For today’s newsletter, I spoke with Guardian home affairs editor Rajeev Syal about the potential impact of this new legislation. That’s right after the headlines.

Five big stories

In depth: ‘They say there will be exemptions but we are yet to see how they will be written’

The new measures have been described as “authoritarian” and “culture war nonsense” by critics including Shami Chakrabarti, but the government has insisted that they are necessary in order to limit what it views as disruptive criminal behaviour. And, perhaps most pressingly, in an election year the Tories need to be viewed as being in control: “Images of flares and fireworks being used against police do not send that image,” Rajeev says.

What are the new rules?

Over the last few years, the government has amended legislation a few times to crack down on what it describes as disruptive protests. In 2022 it granted police extensive new powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act designed to restrict environmental protests by banning non-violent demonstrations that were deemed “too noisy” – the threshold for disruption was left to the discretion of the government. But with every new amendment, protesters found loopholes, with the government playing legislative whack-a-mole to deal with it.

In its latest crackdown attempt, the Home Office has announced that it is now a specific public order offence to climb a war memorial, with the penalty standing at a £1,000 fine and up to three months in prison. The new guidance also includes a ban on the possession of flares, fireworks and any other pyrotechnics at public processions and assemblies for protest: breaking this rule also comes with a £1,000 fine.

Up to now, demonstrators have been able to use the right to protest as a reasonable defence for committing a public order offence; it is how the four protesters in Bristol were cleared for toppling the statue of slave trader Edward Colston. That will no longer work, as the new guidance precludes demonstrators from citing “reasonable excuse” to cause disruptive offences.

One of the most controversial parts of the guidance is the ban on masks. Protesters who wear face coverings could now face up to a month behind bars and, again, a £1,000 fine. Under the current rules, police officers can demand that an individual remove an item that is concealing their identity if a section 60AA order is already in effect in a specific area; a failure to comply could result in an arrest. The new measures seemingly give the police the power to arrest straight away.

Unexpected consequences

The amendments come at a time when the government is seeking to expand the use of facial recognition technology in policing, so the proposal for a mask ban has increased concerns of surveillance, particularly for foreign born dissidents who are already at risk. “Chinese and Iranian protesters are very concerned about their ability to protest,” says Rajeev, “because they know that facial recognition cameras are in use and that that evidence has been used to target and disappear their relatives who are still in their home countries.” Iranian activists are reportedly already being targeted by the regime in Tehran, which has used agents all over Europe to harass, threaten and surveil activists. A ban on face coverings could also stop those who wear masks for medical reasons from attending protests.

Next steps

The specific language of the amendments has not yet been made public so it is unclear how these new rules will be implemented. “They have said there will be exemptions but we are yet to see how they will be written into the amendment,” Rajeev says. When he spoke to lawyers who are familiar with the issue, they said that it would all depend on how the government defines a face covering: “Is a scarf that is worn above the chin or under the nose for religious purposes a face covering? Would that get you arrested? None of this is clear yet.” These details are sure to be challenged in the courts.

What is certain is that curbing people’s ability to safely and peacefully state their grievance through protests and demonstrations will have repercussions for the way society functions, says Rajeev. “If democracy is a pressure cooker, it needs to let off steam.”

What else we’ve been reading

Did Lulu really go round to Pete Townshend’s folks’ house in Glasgow for tea and biscuits? The stentorian Scottish pop singer, actor and TV staple answers readers’ questions about Eurovision glory, nibbling biscuits with the Who, and flying high with Take That. Nazia Parveen, acting deputy editor, newsletters

One in seven people in England are waiting for NHS treatment and the delays are having untold consequences on their lives. Nicola Davis, Rachel Obordo and Carmen Aguilar García’s report lays out the real world impact of the health services growing waiting lists. Nimo

Being typecast has often been a problem for actors of colour, and in this Evening Standard piece black writers talk about some of the issues they face – with British writers claiming that if they don’t want to write about trauma, they struggle to be heard. Nazia

Six months after the deadliest American fire in more than a century, more than 5,000 people are still in emergency hotel accommodation in Maui, Hawaii. Nina Lakhani spoke to the people who are still stuck in a “labyrinth of post-disaster bureaucracy”. Nimo

“I will defend The Royal Society of Literature against all attacks. It is more alive than ever.” Bernardine Evaristo, the president of the society, has launched a staunch defence of the organisation, which she says has been subjected to “false accusations”. Nazia

Sport

Formula One | Christian Horner’s future in Formula One hangs in the balance as the Red Bull team principal prepares for a crunch meeting on Friday where he must defend himself against allegations of inappropriate behaviour that might end his career.

Rugby | England have named an unchanged team for the first time in four years for Saturday’s Six Nations fixture with Wales at Twickenham. The head coach, Steve Borthwick, has retained the same starting XV and bench originally announced for the 27-24 victory over Italy in round one after prop Ellis Genge’s recovery from a foot injury.

Paris 2024 | Podium finishers at the upcoming Paris Olympics will be rewarded with a piece of the Eiffel Tower, organisers said on Thursday, unveiling the event’s medals which are set with hexagon-shaped tokens forged out of scrap metal from the monument.

The front pages

“Fury as Starmer stages U-turn on £28bn green investment pledge” says the Guardian this morning. “Starmer angers left with Labour’s green reversal” – that’s the Times while the Daily Mail asks “Can you ever believe a word Sir U-turn says?”. The Financial Times gets in on the story: “Starmer U-turn slashes £28bn yearly green spending promise to £4.7bn”. The Daily Express goes with “Unleashed! PM vows to call out Starmer’s ‘dirty tricks’” – that’s after the Labour leader called out Rishi Sunak for an appalling jibe towards trans people.Lead story in the i is “Post Office admits second IT scandal may be linked to wrongful prosecutions”. “‘Absurd’ Arena bomb denier” – the Metro covers a conspiracy theorist being sued for accusing victims of being fakes. “Nation in decay” – the crisis in NHS children’s dental care leads the Daily Mirror. Lastly the splash in Friday’s Daily Telegraph is “Biden ‘can’t remember when he was vice president’”.

Something for the weekend

Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read and listen to right now

Film
The Iron Claw (in cinemas today)
The Von Erichs were a professional wrestling dynasty from Texas in the 1980s; giant boys in wrestling boots and trunks and their taskmaster patriarch-manager. The old man was embittered and fanatically energised on his sons’ behalf in time-honoured fashion by his own failure to win glory as a young contender. As a result of his brutally dysfunctional parenting and toxic masculinity, the Von Erichs were plagued by a succession of heartbreaking calamities. Maybe this film will come to be shown as a double bill with Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides, although the ordeal here is broadly factual. Peter Bradshaw

Music
Kali Malone: All Life Long
Despite its minimalism, this is not music that feels dry or emotionally austere. There’s a genuinely affecting melancholy about Prisoned on Watery Shore, while Moving Forward invokes a kind of contemplative calm. It’s also music that feels strangely malleable. On paper, All Life Long looks like hard work for anyone whose musical tastes don’t usually dwell on the avant garde fringes. The reality is that it requires virtually no effort on the part of the listener: you just have to let yourself succumb. Alexis Petridis

TV
One Day (Netflix)
A limited series is the perfect format for One Day, a love story at once epic – spanning 20 years – and quotidian, with all the action taking place on a single date, 15 July, St Swithin’s Day. Each half-hour episode, bar the heart-wrenching finale, covers a day, beginning in 1988 with Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall) and Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) meeting on the night of their graduation from Edinburgh uni. This neatly carves up the story into 14 highly bingeable slices of wistfulness. The format made me realise what One Day is really about: the poetry of day-to-day life and the power of nostalgia. Chitra Ramaswamy

Podcast
Black History, for Real (Widely available)
Franchesca Ramsey and Conscious Lee go beyond Martin Luther King to shine a light on the lesser-known figures who’ve shaped Black culture, with much fascinating discussion. The excellent first episode focuses on the women of the Black Panther party, including Assata Shakur, who became a fugitive after being targeted by the FBI but maintains her innocence. Hannah Verdier

Today in Focus

Cartoon of the day | Martin Rowson

The Upside

A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad

It turns out Christian Bale doesn’t just play a hero on screen. Like Bruce Wayne himself, the actor has become a patron to children in need, breaking ground on the first of 12 foster homes he plans to build in California.

The $22m project, set to be completed next year, will be a first of its kind complex of facilities with the aim of keeping siblings in the foster care system together, and ideally under the same roof.

“Imagine the absolute pain and the trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that. That’s no way to treat kids,” the actor said.

“I hope that this village will be the first of many, and I hope that people, Californians and Angelenos, know to come join us in opening our eyes to what’s happening right under our noses. These are our children, and we must help our children.”

Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday

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