Authoritarians on wrong side of row

IT is worth pausing and reflecting calmly and clearly on why there have been repeated mass protests in Bristol recently over the Government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

We have had three nights of trouble, so it’s worth being aware of the background. Even the establishment publication The Economist thinks the legislation is bad and goes too far. It says it has provisions “that would sit comfortably in Russian or Chinese statute books”. It would, it says,

“give police excessive powers to gag demonstrations”.

The Home Secretary wants to gag groups like Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter from protesting. And it is trying to bring this legislation in at a time of pandemic restrictions. It is no wonder that people are vociferously protesting!

None of which is to excuse the violence manifested at one demonstration, but it does explain why people were protesting in the first place. Some shouting “kill the bill” were probably anarchists exploiting the situation. That was wrong, and criminal. The poor police are caught in the middle.

Freedom of expression, including freedom of assembly, is central to a free society and a democratic right. As The Economist leader says, “decent societies have to put up with a few inconveniences to guarantee it” ... “most of what is now called political progress started off as protest”.

The Prime Minister should stop this rotten bill, or do more damage to Churchill’s legacy of free protest and dissent than any paint-spraying protester.

P Evans

Bristol