UK Government amendment to Crime and Policing bill is a draconian and dangerous crackdown on British civil rights 

London, 15th April 2026 – The UK Government’s passing of the cumulative impact amendment to the Crime and Policing bill is a draconian and dangerous crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly across Britain. The government’s amendment is intentionally vague and purposefully disruptive to the organising of peaceful assembly, and will particularly affect  pro-Palestine protests. 

In January, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) joined fellow civil society organisations in defending the fundamental right to protest in the UK and opposing the government’s targeted crackdown on civil liberties. The passing of this amendment now means that once the Crime and Policing bill becomes law, police in England and Wales will be required to consider any past protests or planned future protests in the same ‘area’ when deciding whether to impose restrictions. The size of an ‘area’ is not specified, and police are not required to take into account whether the protests are for the same cause or involve the same people.  

The bill is designed to disproportionately target pro-Palestine protests and affords police in England and Wales the power to carry out inordinate measures against peaceful protestors. The bill is part of a wider pattern of democratic backsliding under the previous government and this Labour Government and is just the latest piece of legislation to hinder our right to protest in the UK.  

The list is endless: the Police Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Public Order Act 2023, the proscription of Palestine Action in 2025, the Metropolitan Police’s banning of certain pro-Palestine chants, and now this horrific amendment to an already problematic bill. It is an Orwellian masterclass of normalisation of criminalising dissent. 

While the government remains remarkably out of touch with the British public on Palestine, their cynical and repeated attempts to silence those who demand greater accountability for the UK’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing crimes is a draconian erosion of fundamental British freedoms. 

Órlaith Roe, ICJP’s Public Affairs and Communications Officer, said: 

“The right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in the UK is not a privilege bestowed by the government. It is a fundamental and core pillar of civil liberties in Britain, and this Labour Government’s wilful erosion of those rights marks a dark and concerning attempt to undermine these vital freedoms and silence its detractors who protest peacefully, justly, and fairly.”  

ENDS 

Notes for Editors: 

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.   

For more information, to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected]. 

Image: indigonolan via Wikimedia Commons.