Liberty responds to Lords vote on noise-based protest restrictions

Liberty has welcomed the news that peers in the House of Lords have, for a second time, voted to remove plans to impose noise-based restrictions on protest from the Government’s Policing Bill.

Sam Grant, Head of Policy and Campaigns, said: 

“For the second time, some of the worst excesses of the Government’s Policing Bill have been defeated in the House of Lords, with Peers voting to remove the parts of the Bill which would allow police to impose noise-based restrictions on protest.

“These new powers would strike at the heart of what makes protest effective, and it’s vital that we continue to fight to keep them out of the Bill. The Policing Bill will return to the House of Commons next week, where MPs have the chance to keep the noise-based restrictions out of the Bill for good.

“Protest is a right, not a gift from the state – and we must ensure that our right to make our voices heard is not taken away.”