Thank you for contacting me about the Public Order bill.

Recent protest activity from a minority of individuals, utilising guerrilla tactics, has caused misery to the hard-working public, disrupted businesses, interfered with emergency services, cost millions in taxpayers’ money, and put lives at risk.

The Government is therefore legislating to better equip the police to manage and tackle dangerous and highly disruptive tactics, as well as prevent major transport projects and infrastructure from being targeted by protestors. 

The new Public Order Bill seeks to introduce new criminal offences of locking-on and going equipped to lock-on, make it illegal to obstruct major transport works such as HS2, create a new criminal offence for interfering with key national infrastructure, extend stop and search powers for police to search for and seize articles related to protest-related activity and introduce Serious Disruption Prevention Orders where a breach of the order would constitute a criminal offence.

I support the right to legally and peacefully protest, but I am confident these new changes to public order law will put a stop to the relentless reoffending and significant disruption caused by a selfish minority of protesters which impinge on the rights of the British public to go about their daily lives in peace.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.