Will Hazell
Sat, 16 March 2024
Pro-Palestinian protesters beamed slogans onto Parliament last month - Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu
The Attorney General has asked officials to conduct a review of existing laws to clarify whether protesters can be banned from projecting images onto Parliament, The Telegraph can reveal.
Victoria Prentis has asked civil servants to carry out a “sweep” of current legislation after pro-Palestinian protesters beamed the slogan “from the river to the sea” onto the building last month.
The phrase refers to the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean. Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, has said it can be understood “as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world”.
Last month, police stood by as protesters beamed the slogan onto the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben.
When the Metropolitan Police was challenged the following day about the decision not to intervene, a spokesman said: “While there are scenarios where chanting or using these words could be unlawful depending on the specific location or context, its use in a wider public protest setting, such as last night, is not a criminal offence.”
Protesters beamed the slogan onto Parliament's Elizabeth Tower last month
The response drew a backlash, with Chris Philp, the policing minister, telling MPs: “There were a number of bases on which the police could have acted to prevent that projection. Big Ben is not a canvas for political campaigning, particularly where the slogans are deeply offensive in nature, and that is a view I have made very clear to the commissioner.”
The incident prompted a review of the wider issue of projecting images onto Parliament and other public buildings.
A source close to the Attorney General and Robert Courts, the Solicitor General, said: “They’re very concerned about this incident and think it is outrageous. They’ve ordered a full 360 of all laws to make sure we have the proper tools to deal with it.”
The Telegraph understands that the suggestion to carry out the review came up in a round table discussion held by Rishi Sunak with police chiefs and the Crown Prosecution Service last month.
The House of Commons authorities have previously said that planning laws require permission to be granted by both the Speaker and Westminster City Council before any projection onto parliamentary buildings is allowed.
The Telegraph understands that one avenue the Government is exploring is whether certain projections onto heritage sites breach planning laws because they compromise the legally protected character and appearance of the sites.
Sir Michael Ellis, a former attorney general, said last month that police could have used the 1986 Public Order Act to intervene. The legislation refers to the use of “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour” with “intent to cause… harassment, alarm or distress”.
He said: “The police could also have reasonably feared a breach of the peace, ordered the removal of the projection machine, and, if there was non-compliance, arrested the individual for obstructing a constable under the Police Act 1996.”
The Home Office was contacted for comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment