The Court of Appeal upheld a previous ruling that quashed an anti-protest regulation deemed unlawfully introduced by former home secretary Suella Braverman. This regulation expanded police powers over protests, redefining 'serious disruption' beyond what was legally permissible. Civil rights campaigners, including Liberty's director Akiko Hart, celebrated this decision as a victory for democracy, emphasizing the need for government accountability and adherence to lawful procedures. The ruling highlights the importance of protecting the right to protest and curbing excessive governmental power. The government is urged to accept the ruling and repeal the unlawful law to ensure fear of legal repercussions does not stifle free expression.
Today's judgment is clear, just as it was last year, that these laws should never have been made. They were a flagrant abuse of power from a government determined to shut down protesters they did not personally agree with.
Five different judges over two separate hearings have now ruled that serious' simply cannot mean more than minor'. It's therefore even more surprising that the current government chose to continue the appeal into this case and argue that wasn't the case.
This ruling is a huge victory for democracy, and sets an important precedent that government ministers must respect the law, and cannot simply step outside it to do whatever they want.
The next step for the government is simple: they must accept this ruling and agree to scrap this unlawful legislation once and for all.
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