Ministers are to give police new powers to target repeated protests, aimed particularly at cracking down on demonstrations connected to Gaza, the Home Office has said.
The announcement, made the morning after almost 500 people were arrested in London for expressing support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, could allow police to order regular protests to take place at a different site.
I think the Met needs to ask themselves if they are police or government goons. Police can choose what they feel they need to enforce if they are concerned about escalating a situation.
Interesting note: I saw the chair of the Met Police Federation was saying that officers are sick of the position they have been put in and is calling for politicians and senior officers to sort it out.
Today the home office says “go harder!”.