Tomorrow (Monday 30 January) the Public Order Bill will return to
the House of Lords for its Report Stage.
Please find a statement from the Home Secretary below in advance
of this.
Home Secretary, , said:
“Enough is enough. Blocking motorways and slow walking in roads
delays our life saving emergency services, stops people getting
to work and drains police resources.
“Around 75 days of Just Stop Oil action alone cost the taxpayer
£12.5 million pound in policing response. This is simply not fair
on the British public.
“Our Public Order Bill will see proper penalties for the small
minority using guerilla tactics to hold the public to ransom
under the guise of ‘protest’.
“Having listened to the police, we need to clarify what
constitutes serious disruption in law, so officers can take much
quicker action to protect the public and prevent days on end of
gridlock on our roads.
“I urge colleagues across the House of Lords to pass this measure
tonight – it is our duty to stand up for the law-abiding public
and protect their right to go about their business.”
Further information:
- Tomorrow, the Public Order Bill will be in the House of Lords
for its Report stage. There will debates on the new criminal
offences of locking-on and tunnelling, the thresholds at which
the police can intervene, new stop and search powers and on
Serious Disruption Prevention Orders.
- The Public Order Bill will give the police the powers they
need to prevent and respond to guerrilla tactics that cause
misery to the hard-working public. This includes:
-
- A new criminal offence of interfering with key national
infrastructure, such as roads, oil refineries, airports,
railways and printing presses – carrying a maximum sentence
of 12 months in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
- New criminal offences of ‘locking-on’, and going equipped
to ‘lock-on’, to others, objects, or buildings in order to
cause serious disruption – carrying a maximum penalty of six
months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine, and an
unlimited fine, respectively.
- Stop and search measures and new Serious Disruption
Prevention Orders (SDPOs) will improve the police’s ability
to intervene before such disruption is caused. SDPOs will
target repeat offenders of protest related offences and those
who have breached protest-related injunctions. The court may
require a person subject to a SDPO to wear an electronic tag.
Breach of a SDPO is a criminal offence carrying a maximum
penalty of six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or
both.
- Secretaries of State will be able to apply for an
injunction in relation to protest activity which causes, or
threatens, serious impact on public safety, or serious
disruption to access to or use of: (1) key national
infrastructure; (2) essential services; and/or (3) essential
goods. The relevant Secretary of State can apply for an
injunction, in situations where there is a public interest to
do so. Local authorities or private landowners can continue
to apply for an injunction.
- A new criminal offence of tunnelling or being present in
a tunnel in order to cause serious disruption – carrying a
maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and/or an
unlimited fine. A new criminal offence of going equipped to
tunnel will carry a maximum penalty of six months’
imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
