Just two years after the British government finally abolished all mask-wearing requirements, the country is responding to the ferocious pace of anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations with a new law specifically outlawing the wearing of masks during protests. A new law has been introduced.
Home Secretary James Cleverley said demonstrators wearing masks could face jail terms and fines, under new measures to be added to the Criminal Justice Bill currently going through Parliament. He said there is. As pointed out by daily telegraph Police already have powers under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to require protesters to remove their masks. The new law will give more powers to arrest those who do not comply.
Those caught face one month in prison and a £1,000 fine. The proposed changes come after months of Palestinian protests, which have skyrocketed in frequency and scope since Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. face mask And because police are reluctant to arrest troublemakers on the spot, officers are unable to track down those who make illegal anti-Semitic comments after the fact.
Thousands demonstrate in London against US, UK, Israel, Houthi and Hamas terrorists praisedhttps://t.co/INihk9fnXz
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 13, 2024
In addition to banning “the wearing of face coverings to conceal one’s identity during certain protests,” Mr. Cleverley also banned “climbing war memorials during protests” and “the use of smoke bombs or igniters during protests.” He also said he would like to ban the possession of barrels.
In a message Thursday, he said:[Scenes of chaos have] It has become all too familiar…we ban climbing on war memorials. We should honor those whose service has enabled us to live freely and whose sacrifices have protected the very right to protest… The right to protest is fundamental to democracy, but this does not extend to disrupting the lives of hard-working people. We are changing laws to keep people safe. ”
of evening standard report Police chiefs have previously claimed that face coverings are used to “avoid conviction”, and Mr Cleverley’s plan would allow demonstrators to move to protests to avoid damages or disruption. They will no longer be able to appeal for their right to freedom. guardian Note The law is also a response to the vandalism of a statue in Bristol, England, where four protesters escaped criminal charges, claiming they were exercising their freedom of expression through the law.
The move to criminalize mask-wearing and impose fines and jail terms on those who refuse to remove them comes just two years after the government ended a mask mandate that punished people who don’t wear masks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Plan B mask requirement ended in January 2022, but Prime Minister Sadiq Khan’s Transport for London policy remained in place until February.
The mask mandate was not an empty threat. Post-lockdown figures show 3,996 people have been fined £200 each for not wearing a mask on public transport in London during the coronavirus era, and a further 2,325 people have been fined on trains for refusing to wear a mask. and were ordered to get off the bus. In one case, a man surrounded by five police officers He was later fined £10,000 after refusing to pay an initial £200 after being seen without a mask on a train.
Two women charged with terrorism over images of paragliding during pro-Palestinian protests in Londonhttps://t.co/zeHqhE6PPf
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 4, 2023
