On his left flank
While the right-leaning Farage is leading the charge on the Connolly case, the left in Britain is waging its own battle over free speech, and the right to protest.
Earlier this year, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper moved to proscribe Palestine Action, a pro-Gaza campaign group involved in direct action at a U.K. military site in July, as a terrorist group. That makes membership of, or support, for the group a criminal offense, and it’s a restriction being challenged by high-profile figures on the left, including former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Civil liberties groups have also leapt on the protest curbs. In August, more than 500 people were arrested at a demonstration in London in support of the banned group, many for displaying placards in support. Akiko Hart, director of the campaign group Liberty, said the proscription of Palestine Action is a “disproportionate application of counter-terror laws, and is a worrying escalation of how the government treats protest groups and uses terrorism powers.”
She said it was creating “a chilling effect in which many people are now also unable to express their opinions on the proscription of a direct action group because of the risk of arrest.”
The Home Office has long insisted the proscription does not affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights, and only applies to the “specific and narrow organization.” The decision to proscribe had been based on “strong security advice” following serious attacks, the Home Office said.
For the police — tasked with enforcing the controversial law — the proscription of Palestine Action had “clearly been a pressure” over the summer, Gavin Stephens, a senior chief constable who chairs the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said. But they had the “capability to deal with the law where it needs to be enforced.”
