That is a very good point and I am grateful to the hon. Lady for making it.
It is a matter of regret that when the Government responded to our cross-party report they said:
“Any chilling effect on the right to protest, damage to the UK’s reputation, or encouragement of other nations seeking to crack down on peaceful protest is more likely to arise from the misleading commentary on the PCSC Act and this Bill”
than anything else. No, Minister. That is not the case. The Committee’s conclusions are not misleading commentary. They are the conclusions of a cross-party Committee of this House, informed by evidence from many different sources and advice from our own legal experts on the European convention on human rights, to which, thank God, the UK is still a signatory and which is still enforceable under the Human Rights Act 1998, which seems, thankfully, safe for the time being.
Before I turn to the amendments, I want to quickly make the point that the criminal law and the powers of the police already allow for action to be taken against violent protest and disruptive non-violent protest. That is addressed in detail in paragraph 18 of our report, where we list all the existing provisions under the criminal law of England and Wales that cover the situations about which the Minister says he is concerned. So not only do we think that the Bill is an attack on the
fundamental rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, but we believe that it is unnecessary and simply replicating existing law.
Our first tranche of amendments deal with the new offences set out in clauses 1 and 2—the proposed offences of “locking on” and
“being equipped to lock on”.
The purpose of those amendments is to try to water down what we consider to be far too stringent positions. We are particularly concerned about the reversal of the burden proof, putting it on the accused. The purpose of our amendments is to reverse that and put that burden on the prosecution, as is consistent with the presumption of innocence and therefore with article 6 of the ECHR. So amendments 28 to 33 would narrow the scope of clauses 1 and 2 and improve safeguards against violation of convention rights.
We believe that the offence of obstructing major transport works in clause 6 is so widely drafted that it could easily criminalise the peaceful exercise of rights under articles 10 and 11, so our amendments 34 to 36 would narrow its scope, including by introducing a requirement of intent and removing the unnecessary reversal of the burden of proof.
We think the proposed offence of interfering with “key national infrastructure” is too widely drawn and thus risks criminalising, without justification, behaviour that would fall within the provisions of articles 10 and 11 of the ECHR. Amendments 37 to 49 would narrow its scope and remove the unnecessary reversal of the burden of proof.
The proposal to extend stop-and-search powers to cover searches for articles connected with protest-related offences risks exposing peaceful protesters and other members of the public to intrusive encounters with the police without sufficient justification. We would like the utilisation of these new powers to be carefully monitored. In that respect, I note with approval the terms of new clauses 9 and 10 in the name of the hon. Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova).
2.15 pm
The most concerning part of the Bill is the power to stop and search without reasonable suspicion. That is a highly exceptional power and will inevitably give rise to the risk of arbitrary or discriminatory use. Such powers have previously been authorised only in respect of serious violence and terrorism. The Committee believes their introduction in response to problems caused by disruptive protest would be disproportionate and inconsistent with the right to engage in peaceful protest. That is why we tabled amendments 12 to 15, which are supported by other hon. Members present and have quite a significant measure of cross-party support beyond the Joint Committee.
We would like to see the serious disruption prevention orders taken out of the Bill completely, along with the power to stop and search without reasonable suspicion. We believe that they would also result in interference with the legitimate peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of speech and the right to freedom of assembly. We therefore support amendments 1 and 2.
Finally, we have heard a lot from the current Government about the importance of freedom of speech. The Bill is about freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Sometimes when people exercise their right of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, it can be a bit annoying to the rest of us and a bit disruptive. Sometimes I have become involved in demonstrations, not as a demonstrator but as somebody trying to get somewhere, and I have found them annoying and disruptive, but to quote Salman Rushdie:
“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”