Places of worship will be better protected from intimidatory protests under new powers being given to police.
The new measures, which will be included as an amendment in the government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill, will protect synagogues, mosques, churches and other religious sites from intimidating levels of disruption caused by protest activity.
These changes will build on existing laws under the Public Order Act, providing a new threshold for officers to be able to impose conditions – including on the route and timing of a march – where the effect of the protest is to intimidate those attending a place of worship. This will give the police total clarity on how and when they can protect religious sites from the types of protest designed to disrupt them.
Concerns have been raised repeatedly in recent months after protests near synagogues have caused the cancellation of events on the Sabbath and have forced congregants to stay at home due to fears about travelling to their places of worship during large-scale demonstrations, especially in central London. Similarly, during last summer’s violent disorder, thugs targeted mosques in Southport, Hull, Sunderland and other areas, causing significant distress to members of the local community.
The move comes as religious hate crime has continued to rise at an alarming rate, with police-recorded antisemitic hate crimes having soared by 113% in the year ending March 2024, and anti-Muslim hate crimes having risen by 13%.
The Home Secretary has also announced new protections for the Holocaust Memorial planned to be built next to Parliament, with protesters or vandals who climb on the memorial facing imprisonment.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy which must always be protected, but that does not include the right to intimidate or infringe on the fundamental freedoms of others.
That’s why we are giving the police stronger powers to prevent intimidating protests outside places of worship to ensure that people can pray in peace.
The Home Secretary has announced that the new offence for climbing on a war memorial – already announced when the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced – will be extended to cover the new National Holocaust Memorial scheduled to be built next to Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens.
The preventative measure will ensure that the memorial to the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and all other victims of Nazi persecution will get the protection it deserves, with those breaking the law facing imprisonment.
The move to protect the memorial comes after a rise in disruptive and dangerous tactics used during protests that have caused distress to so many who cherish these sites of cultural and historical significance. The bill measure bans climbing on the most significant memorials built in Britain to commemorate the fallen of World War 1 and World War 2, and the Holocaust Memorial will be added to this protected list.
The new measure to better protect places of worship will not ban protests and recognises the public’s right to take part in peaceful demonstrations. As they currently do, the police will have to make a proportionality assessment before imposing conditions on specific protests – balancing the right to freedom of expression with the right for others to go about their daily lives free from intimidation and serious disruption.
Alongside the new legislation, the government is also providing up to £50 million to protect faith communities next year. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and for security at Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths.
Lord Khan, Lords Minister for Faith, Communities and Resettlement, said:
Everyone should be protected to practice their faith freely and safely, and no one should fear attending their place of worship.
The freedom to protest is a key part of a democracy which must be protected. These new powers will add to the significant security funding we are providing places of worship, enabling worshippers – and the many others who rely on these important community assets – to go about their daily lives free from intimidation and fear.
Mark Gardner, Chief Executive of the Community Security Trust, said:
The cumulative impact on central London synagogues of repeated large, noisy protests, often featuring antisemitism and support for terrorism and extremism, has been intolerable.
We welcome these new measures to protect the rights of the Jewish community to pray in peace and we thank the Home Secretary for her ongoing support. Everyone has the right to protest, but there must be a balance so that all communities can attend their places of worship free from hate and without fear of being intimidated.
We also welcome the protection of the forthcoming Holocaust memorial which is set to be built next year – a tribute that will have cultural and historical significance for the entire country.
Phil Rosenberg, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said:
We welcome the Home Secretary’s announcement about measures to protect places of worship under the new Crime and Policing Bill. This is something we have been calling for over recent months.
We also welcome the inclusion of the new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in the protected list of war memorials. Protests near synagogues have led to serious and unacceptable disruption to our communal life over the last 18 months. The intimidatory protests outside mosques during the violent disorder last summer were similarly intolerable.
The new provisions will ensure the right to free speech does not conflict with freedom of worship or religious practice, and will build towards the more cohesive Britain we all want to see.
The Bishop of Manchester, Rt Revd David Walker, said:
People and families should always expect to be able to worship freely, confident in their own safety. Freedom of speech, including the right to protest, is also important in a free and democratic society. I welcome the government’s commitment to making sure our places of worship are safe and secure, and I look forward to exploring these proposals in more detail.
Further information
The new protest powers for police, being introduced into the bill at committee stage, will create a new threshold for sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, which enable police to impose conditions on public processions and assemblies.
