Priti Patel wants to stop protests against male violence on women. Will YOU help stop her?
The government’s reaction to protests like that on Clapham Common last night (March 13), when male police officers arrested many women who had gathered to protest at the kidnap and murder of a woman, apparently by a male police officer, is simple: it will stop us from protesting.
Do you think that is reasonable?
Priti Patel is pushing through new legislation to ensure that police can step in to prevent any protests, rallies, or other public demonstrations tomorrow (March 15).
Her new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will expand on powers to restrict demonstrations in the Public Order Act 1986 that allowed them to be restricted if there was a risk of “serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community”.
The new Bill increases the scope to allow restrictions on the basis of noise: Patel means to literally silence protest in the UK.
If it is enacted as it stands, then police will be able to stop protests that “may result in serious disruption to the activities of an organisation” – for instance by distracting employees in a nearby office.
This also applies if the event disturbs passers-by – if the noise of the protest could have “a relevant impact on persons in the vicinity of the procession”.
The threshold is minimal: if just one person could be caused “serious unease, alarm or distress”, the rozzers would be allowed to move in and get busy with their truncheons.
This is fascism – and it makes a mockery of the false hand-wringing the Bill’s author, Priti Patel, was exhibiting on Twitter yesterday:
Some of the footage circulating online from the vigil in Clapham is upsetting. I have asked the Metropolitan Police for a full report on what happened.
My thoughts remain with Sarah’s family and friends at this terrible time.
— Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) March 13, 2021
Don't believe @pritipatel for one minute on how she thinks the Met's behaviour tonight is "upsetting".
Next week, she will try and push through a bill which will severely limit the right to peaceful protest. And we must not let her.
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) March 13, 2021
We should have known this was coming, though. She made her position clear when she told LBC’s Nick Ferrari “I don’t support protest”:
When someone shows you who they are, believe them…
Priti Patel: "I don't support protests." pic.twitter.com/CHhmLL5Wci— Femi (@Femi_Sorry) March 13, 2021
The horrendous scenes on Clapham Common last night were a direct consquence of Patel’s ideology. Remember, she controls the Metropolitan Police:
This is outrageous. This has come directly from Priti Patel. We are now a Police State. https://t.co/sFbrjmeBaI
— MimiJ (@MimiJ9) March 13, 2021
This hideous display of police insensitivity on Clapham Common is down to Priti Patel. They followed her guidance from November.
Her position is untenable.
Priti Patel is a danger to every woman, man, and child in this country.#ArrestYourOwn
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) March 13, 2021
It seems the new Bill will contradict the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines our right to protest in law:
Protest is a human right. It is protected under the Human Rights Act. Right now the government have effectively banned it under the Coronavirus Act and it's not ending there – Priti Patel is attempting to make that permanent with the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
— Moya Lothian-McLean (@mlothianmclean) March 13, 2021
This Writer therefore called for all right-thinking people to make a stand against Patel’s fascism:
Priti Patel's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill contains draconian curbs on the right to protest. It will be debated in Parliament on Monday.
Considering events on Clapham Common this evening, there should be a major demonstration in Westminster #EndViolenceAgainstWomen
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) March 14, 2021
I am glad to report that there will indeed be such an event:
So there it is. If you want to protest against Priti Patel’s (and by extension, Boris Johnson’s) plan to silence protest against male violence on women* then be at Parliament Square in London from 5pm tomorrow – Monday, March 15.
*Yes, she wants to stop all forms of protest but this is what she is stopping right now, and people need to be aware of what it means. If you want to complain about my choice of words, your priorities are as wrong as if you wanted to complain about my characterisation of “male” violence in a previous article.
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
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During the pandemic all gathering should be banned. But after the pandemic, any attempt to ban protests should be vigorously opposed.
I don’t think ALL gatherings should be banned. Protests should still be allowed to take place under conditions that allow social distancing.
Remember, the police kettled those women last night.
Exactly Mike. My daughter was there with my 9 yr old granddaughter. She told me they were sly and calculating. They gave the impression initially they had no problem with public being there and had a couple of policewomen standing here and there who weren’t saying anything.
My daughter was quite far back from the bandstand as my young granddaughter was with her and she noticed the sporadically placed officers started looking around whilst all started holding their ears listening then they started walking behind her gathering into a group who just went bang straight through people at the back, storming through shoving people over trampling on them.
One girl got told to go home and retorted “you don’t scare me” and the policeman responded “do you know how many bodies I’ve seen?” and laughed at her.
WTAF
I really am still trying to get my head round it. My understanding is that it was a vigil for a young woman allegedly murdered by a serving police officer, and a peaceful protest against male violence. The organisers of which had offered to work with the police to ensure no breach of covid regulations, this offer having been refused/ignored, and an assurance having been received from a judge confirming it was legal.
Thank goodness for people like your daughter who are willing to stand up and be counted, but how frightening must it have been for her and your grand daughter. Given the circumstances of the vigil, it just beggars belief that the police present were apparently encouraged, no, they must have been ordered to behave in such a manner. The policewomen present and Cressida Dick – and it is surely not possible that Priti Patel had no prior input?- should be utterly ashamed of themselves.
This IS Fascism. This is NOT an emergency power. We’ve had journalists arrested, journalists charged for doing their job, journalists on trial for doing their job. The BBC is now ditching anything perceived as ‘left wing’ and protests, which WERE possible under Coronavirus Legislation, are now banned and, even in the future after lockdown, can be stopped on a whim. Will this disproportionately be applied to anything that smacks of BLM, the left wing and Scottish Independence? You can bet your bottom dollar it will.
This is NOT hyperbole, attacks on journalism, protest and misogynistic attitudes in combination with the corruption we’ve already seen with COVID contracts and the law breaking in refusing to disclose the details mean we have met all the tests. FTA and FTA Centres along with Terror legislation and Emergency Powers ensure that justice is a distant memory. Ever since Cressida Dick ordered the death (because it was a deliberate shoot to kill) of Jean Charles Menezes we now only see terrorist being shot dead instead of arrested. The press are too scared to report and say why this illegal move is firstly illegal and secondly a bad idea – NB it simply creates martyrs and helps recruit more.
With the government’s refusal to countenance the Scots majority’s wish for another referendum (which would undoubtedly be won) and refusal to discuss the Irish border poll (as per the GFA) they cannot be considered a democracy in any sense.
This IS Fascism, we can expect more and more indicative behaviour to follow. COVID, terror and immigration will be used as scapegoats and public dissent will gradually become a thing of the past..
Fascist puppet Priti Patel is enacting her masters’ orders which come from little fascist dictator dick johnson! He doesn’t want any protests to occur at all because it would ‘dent’ the fascist tory image of being a fair (hahhha!) government!
I predict this fascist and draconian legislation will pass unhindered because the fascist tories have a huge majority!
Gee wonderful so ‘This also applies if the event disturbs passers-by – if the noise of the protest could have “a relevant impact on persons in the vicinity of the procession”.
The threshold is minimal: if just one person could be caused “serious unease, alarm or distress”, the rozzers would be allowed to move in and get busy with their truncheons.’
Indeed just one fascist tory puppet will be on hand to declare ‘wah that protest is impacting me because of the noise levels so therefore my sole individual right supercedes the peasants’ right to protest against the government!’
Goodbye democracy – this died when 10 years ago the fascist tories gained political power!
What about the citizens’ right to hold their government to account??? Oh wait that no longer applies because we now live in one party fascist state!
Well if she hate noise I suggest a line around her office with everyone just raising one finger can you guess which one for her stupid law? Bet that whould be included fast after the images appeared in the news ;)