Protest groups such as Just Stop Oil and Palestine Action could be banned in a similar way to terror organisations under plans to update the law to deal with extreme-Left demonstrations.
A report by the Government’s adviser on combating political violence will recommend creating a new category for proscribing protest groups who regularly commit crimes to achieve their aims.
Crossbench peer John Woodcock, whose title is Lord Walney, says the overhaul is needed because the threat of arrest is no longer a deterrent for some.
The measures would restrict a group’s ability to fundraise and its right to assemble in the UK, tackling the issue at source.
Lord Walney’s report will also recommend a ban on protesters wearing masks during marches, as seen in the weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations in London.
Just Stop Oil protestor Eddie Whittingham covered in orange powder on top of a snooker table during the Cazoo World Snooker championship in Sheffield
Two elderly Just Stop Oil activists attempt to break the security glass that protects the Magna Carta in the British Library on May 10, 2024
Reverend Sue Parfit, 82, and Judy Bruce, 85, used a hammer and a chisel to try to break the Magna Carta’s glass case
Dr sarah Benn, 57, protesting for Just stop Oil in 2022. The GP faced a tribunal over her decision to protest where she claimed it was her duty and she was protecting people’s health
Police arrest a protester from Just Stop Oil and pro Palestinian breakout group Youth demand after they sprayed the Labour Party headquarters with red paint
Just stop Oil protestors who were charged after storming a Les Misérables performance in October 5, 2023. Left to right: Noah Crane, Poppy Bliss, Hanan Ameur, Hannah Taylor, Lydia Gribbin
The 100,000-word report, to be published as early as this week, says the Intelligence Services and Home Office should reclassify ‘Left-wing, anarchist and single-Issue’ (LASI) threats’ and add the word ‘extreme’ to avoid unintentionally conflating mainstream Left-wing views with the far-Left.
One extract seen by the Daily Mail states: ‘While the Government clearly has taken steps in recent years to improve understanding of the extreme Right – to bring it up to the level and depth of its understanding of Islamist and jihadist activities – it has not done the same with the far-Left or single-issue threats, violent or non-violent.’
One of its 41 recommendations is to create the ability to ban extreme-Left protest groups regularly on the wrong side of the law. Under what it suggests could be called ‘Extreme Protest Restriction Orders’.
It states: ‘The Government should introduce a mechanism to restrict the activity of organisations which have a policy of using criminal offences… to influence government or public debate.’
Pro-Palestinian protestors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza
Protestors taking part in a day of Action for Palestine in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity campaign
Protestors taking part in a day of Action in London to protest in support of Palestine, March, 2024
Palestine Action blockading an entry point into Kent’s Discovery Park as police gather around before moving them away
Lord Walney told the Mail: ‘The fact people are being arrested is not acting as enough of a deterrent and you look at the length of time it’s taking people to come to trial, the way in which charges are often dropped, and you can understand why organisers are able to basically convince and radicalise people into a mindset where they think they’re going to be able to get away with what they’re doing.’
Palestine Action, a far-Left anarchist anti-Israel group, has engaged in law-breaking by targeting sites linked to Israeli defence firms, while Just Stop Oil’s eco-activists have been charged with causing criminal damage for defacing public buildings and paintings in museums.
Other hard-Left protesters and groups named in the report include Piers Corbyn, the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which has been organising the marches in London.