This Law Should Terrify Anyone Who Values the Right to Protest

This afternoon’s parliamentary debate (watch in full here) on the government’s proposal to expand the Public Order Act to classify animal testing sites as key national infrastructure was, in equal measure, encouraging and deeply frustrating.

I attended the legislative committee debate in person, and what unfolded was something genuinely unusual and revealing.

Despite the fact that these committee sessions typically last no more than ten minutes, today’s debate ran for one hour and ten minutes, driven by sustained, forceful opposition from MPs across the political spectrum. One MP said to me on the way out that it is very unusual for such a debate to attract the sort of attention we saw.

That alone tells you something important. Momentum is growing behind the campaign to stop this ill-thought-through and dangerous expansion of protest laws.

You can watch my 60 second recap of the situation prior to the debate above.

An Unprecedented Level of Opposition

It is extremely rare for so many MPs to turn up to a legislation committee meeting, let alone to do so with the clear intention of opposing the government’s proposals. Yet today, MP after MP voiced serious concerns about the necessity, proportionality, and implications of this change.

The repeated point, made by MPs from multiple parties, was strikingly consistent.

There is already extensive legislation available to deal with protests deemed disruptive or problematic.

There is no legislative gap. There is no emergency. There is no evidence-based need for this change.

And yet, despite this, the government is attempting to rush through a significant expansion of the Public Order Act.

A Minister Without Answers

The Labour minister, Sarah Jones MP, appeared visibly flustered throughout the session and, in all honesty, failed to adequately address, let alone properly answer, a host of fair and reasonable questions put to her.

One particularly serious concern raised was whether classifying animal testing facilities as key national infrastructure could prevent staff at those facilities from legally striking on their own premises. That question was never clearly answered.

Another major contradiction was repeatedly highlighted.

The government has openly conceded that it is still waiting for a formal review into how the Public Order Act is currently being enforced by police, and yet, before that review has even been assessed, it is seeking to dramatically broaden the scope of the legislation.

As John McDonnell MP rightly pointed out, this makes no sense. I’ve included a short segment of John’s speech below that does a great job in getting across the sheer ridiculousness of the Government’s proposals and what it could mean for protest rights.

Exposing the Illogic at the Heart of the Proposal

Rachael Maskell MP articulated one of the most powerful arguments of the afternoon. She questioned why, if the government is so fixated on the need to respond quickly to a future pandemic and vaccine development, it believes further anti-protest powers are necessary at all, when during COVID people were placed in lockdown anyway.

She also cut to the heart of the matter with a simple truth.

The country will not grind to a halt because someone holds a sign with a rabbit on it asking that that rabbit not be injected with disease.

That statement exposed just how disproportionate and absurd this proposal truly is.

Mixed Messages, Corporate Appeasement

Perhaps the most damning contradiction of all is this.

On the one hand, the government has released a so-called “roadmap” to ending animal testing, with no firm dates, no binding commitments, and no meaningful accountability.

On the other hand, it is now telling the public that if they dare protest animal testing facilities, they could face up to a year in prison.

These two positions cannot coexist logically.

What is clear is that the government is bending over backwards to appease pharmaceutical giants, while simultaneously doing everything it can to suppress the public’s right to peaceful protest. That should alarm anyone who cares about civil liberties, whether or not they oppose animal testing.

A Vote Passed, But the Fight Is Far From Over

Despite the strength of opposition, the amendment did pass at this stage (10-2 was the official result by the committee) and will now move to the next phase.

However, this is not the end.

We expect a sympathetic MP to formally object to the amendment in Parliament tomorrow. If that happens, it will force the issue into a full Parliamentary vote, likely to take place in the New Year.

That gives us just a matter of weeks to act.

Why This Matters to Everyone

This is bigger than a campaign against animal testing.

This is about whether a private industry can be elevated into the same legal category as airports, motorways, and energy infrastructure, simply to shield it from protest.

It is about whether governments can quietly redefine dissent as disruption.

It is about whether our right to protest can be hollowed out piece by piece.

Some of the statements made by MPs today were so damning that the chair of the committee felt compelled to note that comments were “just within” acceptable boundaries, a clear indication of the strength of feeling in the room.

And that is why, despite everything, I left with a sense of hope.

Enough MPs understand how dangerous this path is. Enough MPs are clearly uncomfortable with what the government is trying to do. And enough MPs may yet be prepared to do the right thing when this comes before Parliament.

What Happens Next

The task now is clear.

We must use the coming weeks to:

• Make this issue known as widely as possible

• Expose the contradiction and injustice at the heart of the proposal

• Urge MPs to vote against this amendment when it comes before the House

Every individual, every organisation, every group that cares about basic civil liberties must oppose this tooth and nail.

Finally, I want to thank those MPs who took the time to attend Committee Room 12 this afternoon and put on the public record just how ridiculous, and dangerous, this proposal truly is.

The fight is not over and we cannot afford to look away now. In just the last 24 hours, over 13,000 of you have signed the petition calling on your MP to oppose this law change. If you have not yet taken action, please do so now.

I spoke to Sole from Camp Beagle directly after today’s events to get her thoughts on where we’re at and what needs to happen next.

Please show love and support to the brilliant organisations tackling animal testing, Animal Rising, Camp Beagle, Naturewatch Foundation but to name a few.