UK announces new laws to stop intimidating protests near shuls
Police handed new powers to impose tougher conditions on protests after communal anger at location of pro-Palestine marches
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced new laws to protect synagogues from increasingly intimidating protests and rising antisemitism.
The new measures, which will be included as an amendment in the government’s Crime and Policing Bill, will give police new powers to enforce conditions on disruptive demonstrations.
The move follows widespread communal anger and complaints about pro-Palestinian demos in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas massacre that have been staged close to shuls in central London.
Cooper’s announcement will be seen as a major victory for communal leaders who have lobbied the government and police chiefs, pointing out the impact of the pro-Palestine demos on shuls and Jewish buildings in the capital, and elsewhere in the UK.
Cooper’s announcement will be seen as a major victory for communal leaders who have lobbied the government and police chiefs, pointing out the impact of the pro-Palestine demos on shuls and Jewish buildings in the capital, and elsewhere in the UK.
These changes to the law will build on existing laws under the Public Order Act and provide a new threshold for officers to be able to impose conditions – including on the route and timing of a march – where the effect of the protest is to intimidate those attending a place of worship.
This will give the police total clarity on how and when they can protect religious sites from the types of protests designed to disrupt them.
In a further announcement, made in her keynote speech at Wednesday night’s Community Security Trust (CST) dinner, Cooper announced new protections for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre scheduled to be built next to Parliament.
Protesters or vandals who climb on the memorial will face imprisonment, as the long-awaited memorial will be added to the list of protected sites under the Crime and Policing Bill.
The preventative measure is designed to offer the memorial to the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims of Nazi persecution the protection it deserves from antisemitic thugs.
In her speech to a packed audience at the CST dinner, Cooper said: “The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy which must always be protected, but that does not include the right to intimidate or infringe on the fundamental freedoms of others.
“That’s why we are giving the police stronger powers to prevent intimidating protests outside places of worship to ensure that people can pray in peace”.
She added:”People have made use of that right to peaceful protest through generations, and they will do so for many more to come.
“But the right to protest is not the right to intimidate.
“And the right to protest must always be balanced against the freedom for everybody else to go about their daily lives.
“The police already have powers to place conditions on protests.
“And just as we supported officers taking every possible action to defend mosques from appalling attacks during last summer’s violent disorder.
“I have strongly supported action taken by the Metropolitan Police in recent weeks and months to divert protest routes away from synagogues on Saturday mornings.
“But I know how hard the community has had to fight for those conditions – each and every time.
“And I have listened to your calls for change.
“So tonight I can announce that we will legislate in the Crime and Policing Bill currently going through Parliament to strengthen the law.
“And to give the police an explicit new power to prevent intimidating protests outside places of worship.
“This new law will give the police total clarity – that where a protest has an intimidating effect, such that it prevents people from accessing or attending their place of worship – the full range of public order conditions will be available for the police to use.
“Because everybody has a right to live in freedom from fear.”
Welcoming the Home Secretary’s announcement Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, said: “The cumulative impact on central London synagogues of repeated large, noisy protests, often featuring antisemitism and support for terrorism and extremism, has been intolerable.
“We welcome these new measures to protect the rights of the Jewish community to pray in peace and we thank the Home Secretary for her ongoing support. Everyone has the right to protest, but there must be a balance so that all communities can attend their places of worship free from hate and without fear of being intimidated.
“We also welcome the protection of the forthcoming Holocaust memorial which is set to be built next year – a tribute that will have cultural and historical significance for the entire country.”
The Board of Deputies, the CST, and other communal organisations, along with rabbis from shuls impacted by Palestine Solidarity Campaign led protests in central London, have repeatedly spoken of the impact of the demos on the community.
The Central Synagogue on Great Portland Street was one of the institutions impacted as the PSC organised anti-Israel marches that began a few hundred yards away, outside the BBC building on Portland Place.
Faced with taunts from protestors holding anti-Israel and anti-Zionist banners and placards some congregants have stayed at home due to fears about traveling to their places of worship during large-scale demonstrations, while other events have been canceled.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board, added: “We welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement about measures to protect places of worship under the new Crime and Policing Bill. This is something we have been calling for over recent months.
“We also welcome the inclusion of the new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in the protected list of war memorials.
“Protests near synagogues have led to serious and unacceptable disruption to our communal life over the last 18 months. The intimidatory protests outside mosques during the violent disorder last summer were similarly intolerable.
“The new provisions will ensure the right to free speech does not conflict with freedom of worship or religious practice and will build towards the more cohesive Britain we all want to see.”
The new powers will create a new threshold for sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, which enable police to impose conditions on public processions and assemblies.
The new measures to protect a future Holocaust memorial come after a rise in disruptive and dangerous tactics used by activists at protests that have caused distress to so many who cherish these sites of cultural and historical significance.
New laws would ban climbing on the most significant memorials built in Britain to commemorate the fallen of the First and Second World Wars, and the Holocaust Memorial, scheduled to be built in Victoria Tower Garden will be added to this protected list.
The public order measure will not ban protests and continues to recognise the public’s right to take part in peaceful demonstrations.
As they currently do, the police will have to make a proportionality assessment before imposing conditions on specific protests – balancing the right to freedom of expression with the right for others to go about their daily lives free from intimidation and serious disruption.
The new laws are designed to protect shuls, mosques, churches and other religious buildings and sites from intimidating levels of disruption due to protest activity.
Alongside the new legislation, the government is also providing up to £50 million to protect faith communities next year, including £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant.
During last summer’s violent disorder, thugs targeted mosques in Southport, Hull, Sunderland and other areas, causing significant distress to members of the local community.
Religious hate crime has continued to rise at an alarming rate, with police-recorded antisemitic hate crimes having soared by 113% in the year ending March 2024, and anti-Muslim hate crimes having risen by 13%.
Lord Khan, Lords Minister for Faith, Communities and Resettlement, said of the Home Secretary’s announcement:“Everyone should be protected to practice their faith freely and safely, and no one should fear attending their place of worship.
“The freedom to protest is a key part of a democracy which must be protected.
“These new powers will add to the significant security funding we are providing places of worship, enabling worshippers – and the many others who rely on these important community assets – to go about their daily lives free from intimidation and fear.”
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