Month in jail and £1,000 fine for Gaza protesters who refuse to remove face masks
Protesters who refuse to remove their face coverings during demonstrations face a month in jail and a £1,000 fine under a new government crackdown on pro-Palestinian marches.
Ministers are to extend protest laws after police chiefs reported the use of face masks by a “criminal minority” at Gaza protests in the UK over the last few months.
Police already have powers to ask for face coverings to be removed where they believe criminality is likely to occur.
But the new offence will empower officers to arrest individuals who disregard their orders, with those who flout the rules facing a month in prison and a £1,000 fine.
Police chiefs have told ministers that the wearing of face coverings by some protesters to intimidate others and avoid criminal prosecution has been seen at pro-Palestinian marches.
Climbing on war memorials will become a specific criminal offence, carrying a three-month sentence and a £1,000 fine, under the new measures introduced as amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through the Commons.
The new laws will also make it illegal to carry flares and other pyrotechnics.
Anyone in possession of a flare or other pyrotechnic at public marches and protests may be hit with a £1,000 fine.
And in a separate targeting of Just Stop Oil and other environmental demonstrations, the Home Office says the right to protest will no longer be “an excuse for certain public order offences”, such as disrupting traffic by blocking roads and “locking on”, itself a relatively new offence.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Recent protests have seen a small minority dedicated to causing damage and intimidating the law-abiding majority.
“The right to protest is paramount in our county, but taking flares to marches to cause damage and disruption is not protest, it is dangerous.
“That is why we are giving police the powers to prevent any of this criminality on our streets.”
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for public order, Chief Constable BJ Harrington said: “These changes are in-line with conversations that we have had with the Home Office to ensure that we have the powers that we need to get balance right between the rights of those who wish to protest, and those impacted by them.
“Thankfully, the use of flares and pyrotechnics at public order events is rare, but they are still extremely dangerous. Safety is our number one concern when policing these events, and the effective banning of these items during protests can only help in our mission to ensure that they take place without anyone coming to any harm.
“As with all policing powers, these new powers will be used when appropriate, proportionate, and necessary to achieve policing objectives.
“Policing is not anti-protest, but there is a difference between protest and criminal activism, and we are committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives with reckless and criminal acts.”
Since the 7 October attacks by Hamas, which triggered Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, 600 people have been arrested during 1,000 pro-Palestinian marches and vigils in the UK.
