London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Government defends plans for noise limit at protests

Government defends plans for noise limit at protests

The government has defended its plan for noise limits on protests in England and Wales, saying it will affect only "very disruptive" gatherings.

MPs will debate the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill - which would apply existing rules for marches to "static" gatherings - on Monday.

Home Office minister Victoria Atkins said she "absolutely" supported the "right to peaceful protest".

But Labour called the bill "poorly thought out" and "a mess".

The party will order its MPs to vote against the legislation, which also includes stronger police powers to break up "unauthorised encampments" and "longer" sentences for people convicted of serious crimes.

The bill's first detailed discussion in Parliament comes after four people were arrested during a vigil on London's Clapham Common on Saturday to mourn the killing of 33-year-old Sarah Everard.

The Metropolitan Police have been accused of being too aggressive in their handling of demonstrators, but the force said it had acted to protect people's safety and prevent possible coronavirus infections.

The controversy is likely to provoke extra interest when MPs begin their debate on the legislation, which the government says will allow police to "impose conditions such as start and finish times and maximum noise levels on static protests" of whatever size.

This is intended to prevent "intimidation or harassment" or "serious unease, alarm or distress" to bystanders, it adds.

'Real distinction'


Asked on BBC's Andrew Marr Show whether the bill would inhibit personal freedom, Ms Atkins replied: "I want to draw a very firm distinction between the peaceful vigil that [Saturday's] was and was intended to be and some of the very, very disruptive protests that we've seen in the last few years."

These had involved people blocking a hospital entrance and "gluing themselves to buildings and gates, and stopping members of the public going about their business", she added.

There was a "real distinction" between activities which "inhibit the lives of people" and peaceful protest, Ms Atkins said.

The bill would update legislation put in place in 1986, which the minister described as a "very, very different" time.

"We absolutely support the right to peaceful protest," she added.

"Of course make your protest, but can we try to do it in a way that's slightly more balanced than the law will currently allow?" Ms Atkins said.

'Living in fear'


For Labour, shadow justice secretary David Lammy said this was "no time to be rushing through poorly thought out measures to impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to protest".

He added that the government had "brought forward a bill that is seeking to divide the country".

Mr Lammy urged ministers to work with his party "to legislate to tackle violence against women which is forcing so many across the country to live in fear".

On Saturday, Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with Ms Everard's kidnap and murder. He was remanded in custody to appear again at the Old Bailey on 16 March.

Ms Everard disappeared when walking home to Brixton from Clapham in south London on 3 March.

Her body was found in an area of woodland in Ashford, Kent, Westminster Magistrates Court heard.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×