Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel is set to sign off on a new bill that will ban so-called ‘anti-vaxxer’ protests from taking place at jab centres and schools.
An amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill made by left-wing Labour MPs banning certain forms of protest in the United Kingdom looks set to be accepted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel.
Patel, of the ruling Conservative Party, has described the bill as “vitally important” and urged members of Britain’s lower house to vote it through when it turns up for approval later this week.
According to a report by The Guardian, the left-wing amendment to the bill will ban “harmful and disruptive” protests from occurring outside schools and vaccination clinics.
It will also reportedly give local councils the power to crack down on protesters.
“This bill is vitally important as we overhaul the criminal justice system and make our streets safer,” Patel claimed regarding the pending legislation, according to Wales Online.
“It must be passed soon so that we can continue to cut crime, reduce violence, and protect women and girls.”
While the upcoming British policing bill looks set to pose a threat to those protesting elements of Britain’s COVID policy, it has also sparked fears that a more general clampdown on the right to protest is forthcoming.
One veterans’ group in the country fighting for equal pensions rights expressed concern that the “highly dangerous” bill would have criminalised previous protests they held.
“During our protests over the summer, we had loads of banners and flags, it was very colourful and visible with huge posters of the Victoria Cross winners. Could that have been deemed too loud, too annoying or disruptive?” asked one organiser.
Britain’s House of Lords has since gutted the bill of some of its worst contents, but fears remain that the bill will fundamentally impinge on the free speech of those looking to express their beliefs through protest.
One column piece on the bill noted that while the main target of the bill is Extinction Rebellion climate protesters, it is likely that it could also be used to criminalise those who protest the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide of China’s Uyghur minority.
“[T]he powers go well beyond any individual protest group,” argued one commentator. “It would affect any demonstrations around Parliament, which by their very nature can disrupt an organisation and, in fact, are intended to do so.”
While Patel’s forthcoming policing bill is at the fore of the debate surrounding free speech in Britain — such as it is — it is far from the only measure threatening those who speak out.
Under a new so-called Online Safety Bill, Patel and party colleague Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, have expressed a wish to force tech companies to police “legal but harmful” content on their platforms.
The bill also aims to further tighten criminal restrictions regarding speech online, with company heads who refuse to abide by the new rules facing criminal sanctions which include possible fines and prison time.
One industry insider, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed significant worry regarding the proposed measures.
“This seems to go significantly beyond what is done in democratic countries around the world… It feels a bit closer to what they are doing in China,” they said.