Political violence tsar calls for new label to tackle protest groups
THE Government’s political violence tsar is proposing a new “proscription light” label to tackle groups like Palestine Action.
An official review by Lord Walney, the Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, will call on ministers to clamp down on organisations which have a “policy” of conducting criminal acts.
His report is currently being pored over by Home Office officials and is due to be published this week.
One of Lord Walney’s recommendations is for ministers to set up a new legal classification to curtail the activities of groups which “interfere with the rights of others” or “impede the proper functioning of democratic institutions or business”.
This would fall short of the restrictions that are in place when a group is proscribed on terrorism grounds but it is “a kind of proscription light”, according to Lord Walney.
Earlier this year, the policing minister warned police that Palestine Action is inciting activists to “smash up businesses with sledgehammers”.
Chris Philp said he has personally reported the group to the authorities over their manual which offers guidance on “smashing windows and exterior equipment”, blocking companies’ pipes and “breaking into your target and damaging the contents inside”.
Since Oct 7, Palestine Action has repeatedly targeted UK defence manufacturers which it claims have links to Israel. A member of the group was also videoed slashing and spray-painting a portrait of Lord Balfour, the former prime minister, at the University of Cambridge.
The group also boasted of having daubed red paint over the front of the London headquarters of a bank it said had investments in an Israeli weapons firm, and smashed the glass entrance to the building.
Lord Walney told The Telegraph that groups that use “avowedly criminal” methods, but which fall below the threshold of terrorism, need to be dealt with under new powers because they are acting “as though they have legal impunity”. He added: “At the moment, Palestine Action is free to call meetings and advertise activist sessions where they instruct people who turn up on how to commit sabotage.”
In his report, Lord Walney recommends that his new “proscription light” category would mean that such groups are restricted from fundraising and assembling. He also urges ministers to improve their understanding of extreme Left wing groups.
The report says: “While the Government has taken steps in recent years to improve understanding of the Extreme Right – to bring it up to the level and depth of its understanding of Islamist and jihadist activities – it has not done the same with the Far Left or single-issue threats, violent or non-violent.”
Lord Walney also recommends that ministers go further on face masks than current measures do. whereby demonstrators can be arrested if they fail to comply with a police officer’s instruction to remove a face covering.
A Home Office spokesman said: “Extremism of any kind has no place in our society and we will not tolerate tactics that intimidate, threaten or cause disruption to the law-abiding majority.
“In recent months, we have witnessed a small number of protestors display violent and hateful behaviour, and the police have our full support in tackling extremism and hate crime. We are considering the report’s recommendations extremely carefully and will respond in due course.”
Palestine Action was approached for comment.
‘Groups that use avowedly criminal methods ... are acting as though they have legal impunity’
‘Palestine Action is free to call instruct people on how to commit sabotage’