SNP MPs will demand “shameful” anti-protest laws are repealed as the party uses an opposition day debate to scrap “one of the most draconian pieces of law to pass through parliament in recent memory”.
The SNP will also call on Labour, which said it will not reverse the UK Government’s Public Order Act, to change its mind and back the attempt to scrap the law.
It comes after several arrests were made during the Coronation weekend using the new powers to clamp down on protests.
Six demonstrators from campaign group Republic were arrested on Saturday, May 6 as the coronation took place, under the sweeping powers of the new Public Order Act.
Read more: Met Police ‘regret’ over protester arrests ahead of coronation
They were suspected of going equipped to “lock on”, a measure protesters use to make it harder for police to move them, but the group was released without charge after being detained for 16 hours.
Volunteers from Westminster City Council’s night safety team were also reportedly arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance.
Among items seized from them by the Met were a number of rape alarms, the force said.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley later claimed the police’s actions were influenced by intelligence which suggested protesters planned to throw rape alarms at horses in the coronation procession.
Read more: Minister insists police got 'balance right' over coronation arrests
The Met Police has been forced to apologise to protesters and those mistakenly believed to be activists, for the use of the new powers.
The Home Affairs Committee of MPs has confirmed it will scrutinise the Metropolitan Police’s handling of protests over the coronation weekend.
During the Commons debate tomorrow, Labour will also be challenged by the SNP to demonstrate their commitment to upholding people’s “basic democratic right”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “early days” for the Public Order Act.
He said rather than committing to repeal the legislation, Sir Keir suggested fresh guidance could make improvements amid concerns it was being used to clamp down on dissent.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended the new powers as being necessary to give officers the power to tackle “serious disruption”.
But there have been fresh calls to think again over the “crude” and “too broad” law after the Republic activists were prevented from protesting on Saturday.
Labour voted against the legislation as it made its way through Parliament, but now Sir Keir suggests an overhaul may not be necessary.
Read more: Stephen Flynn challenges Rishi Sunak over Coronation arrests
SNP home affairs spokesperson, Alison Thewliss, said: “This shameful piece of legislation clamps down on our basic democratic right to protest, and is quite clearly one of the most draconian pieces of law to pass through parliament in recent memory.
"The anti-protest law can be used to stop the public from seeking to hold placards in the street, see people being arrested for just standing near protesters, and see journalists detained. The appalling scenes at the coronation are a chilling insight into what could now become the norm.”
She added: “Labour appear to have abandoned their roots and their principles on this issue, but we are giving them the opportunity to right that wrong and stand with us in trying to repeal this awful legislation on Tuesday.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel