"Propensity for authoritarianism": British House of Commons votes for police law

Tuesday March 16, 2021

"Tendency to authoritarianism"
British House of Commons votes for Police Law

The murder of a young woman stirs Britain. The alleged perpetrator is a police officer. Now, of all times, the government is pushing a controversial police law through the lower house. It cuts protesters' rights and strengthens the security forces.

Despite protests and fierce criticism from the opposition, the British House of Commons in London voted by a majority in the second reading in the evening for the government's new police law (Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill). The bill has thus cleared its first hurdle in parliament. Among other things, it provides that even peaceful demonstrations may in future be restricted by the police to a greater extent than before if they "intimidate the public" or cause "serious discomfort" because of noise or for other reasons.

Opposition MPs had criticized the law as an expression of the government's "penchant for authoritarianism". Hundreds of people demonstrated against it on Monday evening in front of the Houses of Parliament in London.

The proposed law comes at a time when the police are heavily criticized for their hard work at a weekend vigil. Officials had cracked down on the corona measures and arrested several people at an unauthorized meeting in London on Saturday evening in memory of Sarah Everard, who was kidnapped and killed on her way home. But the pictures of women who were violently led away and wrestled to the ground led to severe criticism of the police.

Police officer in custody for murder

Sarah Everard disappeared without a trace in south London on the evening of March 3rd when she was walking home from a friend. It is believed that a suspect police officer kidnapped and killed her on the way back from his shift. Meanwhile, her body was found in a wooded area in the southeastern English county of Kent. The alleged 48-year-old perpetrator is in custody and appeared in court in the morning via video link. The trial is slated to begin at the end of October, after a hearing is scheduled for July.

Interior Minister Priti Patel had defended the new police law against the allegations. "We have seen significant changes in protest tactics in recent years, with protesters exploiting loopholes in the law that have led to disproportionate levels of disability," said the conservative politician. She referred among other things to protests of the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion.

The plan to increase the maximum penalty for damaging monuments to up to ten years also attracted criticism. For example, last summer protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement toppled the statue of a slave trader and local benefactor in Bristol.