Political violence review eyes new police powers

Police should get extra powers to tackle protests outside Parliament, a government-commissioned review is set to recommend.

Details of the unpublished report have emerged amid heightened debate over MPs’ safety following a vote on Gaza.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle cited the threat to MPs in his controversial handling of the debate.

But the home secretary has said he does not think police need “significantly greater” powers in this area.

James Cleverly added the government was already giving police broader powers to deal with protests through the Criminal Justice Bill.

However, he said he did expect police to take action when protesters gathered outside MPs’ homes with the aim of “distorting” how they voted.

Police already have powers under existing public order legislation to restrict protests that aim to cause “serious disorder” or intimidate people.

A vote on a Gaza ceasefire during a debate on Wednesday descended into chaos after Sir Lindsay broke with convention to allow MPs to vote on a Labour amendment during an SNP debate on the Israel-Hamas war.

Sir Lindsay argued allowing MPs to vote on a wider range of positions would protect them from threats to their safety, amid heightened scrutiny of their stance on the conflict.

However, several Conservative MPs have questioned his decision to allow Labour’s motion on safety grounds, arguing he had allowed Parliament to be intimidated by threats of violence.

Writing in the Telegraph, former home secretary Suella Braverman accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer – who argued for the wider vote – of “bowing to the mob”.

Sir Lindsay has apologised for his handling of the vote, but it has plunged his position into crisis, with the SNP reacting furiously and declaring no confidence in him on Thursday.

More than 60 Conservative and SNP MPs have signed a Commons motion saying they have no confidence in him.

Defending his decision, the speaker said some of threats posed to MPs were “absolutely frightening,” but he did not give details of specific threats.

Now details have emerged of a review into tackling political violence commissioned by the government three years ago.

The Financial Times reported the review, written by crossbench peer Lord Walney, a former Labour MP, was almost complete and would call for a widening of police powers to break up protests outside democratic venues.

It said it would recommend extending Expedited Public Space Protection Orders, which can currently be used only to break up protests outside schools and vaccination clinics, to Parliament, MPs’ offices and council buildings.

The orders, granted by local authorities, can last up to six months, with fines for those who breach them.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Walney said police needed an “easier and faster process” to disperse people from sites that were “crucial to the functioning to democracy”.

He argued that the “aggressive intimidation of MPs” was having a “corrosive effect” on how politicians behaved.

“Even if they would not explicitly admit that they have voted in a particular way directly because of a threat, they are choosing to keep their heads down, not wanting to contribute,” he added.

However, another former Labour MP who is now a crossbench peer, Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said the idea of banning “noisy demonstrations” outside Parliament was “dangerous”.

“It is precisely where protests should be, not outside private homes, religious buildings or community centres,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Asked whether police needed more powers to break up protests outside Parliament, Mr Cleverly said he did not think “significantly greater powers” were needed.

He added that the government took MPs’ safety “incredibly seriously,” and ministers had recently written to police making it clear they expected them to use the “full range of powers” at their disposal to protect politicians.

The government’s Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, will also give them greater powers, he added.

The Public Order Act, passed last year, gave police greater powers to tackle disruption at demonstrations.

In recent weeks, the Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer, has announced he will be standing down from Parliament after receiving death threats.

The debate over MP safety has ramped up in recent years following the murders of Conservative MP Sir David Amess in 2021 and Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016.