The Metropolitan Police chief’s attempt to suggest Northern Ireland-style policing for future demonstrations was condemned as another effort to criminalise the right to protest yesterday.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Sir Mark Rowley said that Parliament has “generally taken quite a permissive approach to protest.”
However, he went on to suggest there are “alternative models in operation in other jurisdictions.”
He said: “In Northern Ireland, for example, because of the specific history of parades and marches taking place in divided communities, there is a whole separate legal framework with a Parades Commission that takes account of the effect of those events on communities and tries to strike a different balance.”
The Parades Commission has the power to place restrictions on marches they deem “contentious,” including banning certain individuals from taking part based on previous breaches, prohibiting certain music and making sure groups stick to specific routes.
To organise a protest in Northern Ireland, the commission must be notified 28 days in advance. In contrast, the Met requires six days’ notice, unless it is “not reasonably practicable.”
Lindsey German of the Stop the War Coalition said Sir Mark’s suggestion is “mad, bad and impossible to implement.”
She said: “The situation in Northern Ireland has absolutely nothing in common with that in London.
“It is a further attempt to criminalise protest and to strip ordinary people of their democratic rights.
“We have organised over 20 of the largest marches in recent British political history and all of them have been overwhelming peaceful, as even the Met have admitted.
“So the kind of measures that Mark Rowley is floating are totally unnecessary.”
Source: Morning Star