| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to make provision for new offences relating to public order; to make provision about stop and search powers; to make provision about the exercise of police functions relating to public order; to make provision about proceedings by the Secretary of State relating to protest-related activities; to make provision about serious disruption prevention orders; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2023 c. 15 |
| Introduced by | Priti Patel, Secretary of State for the Home Department (Commons) The Lord Sharpe of Epsom, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lords) |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales; but provisions amending Acts which extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland extend to those countries |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 2 May 2023 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Public Order Act 2023 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Public Order Act 2023 (c. 15), referred to during its passage through Parliament as the public order bill and the anti-protest bill,[1] is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom greater powers to prevent protest tactics deemed "disruptive" such as those used by climate protestors.[2][3][4][5] It received royal assent on 2 May 2023 by King Charles III.
This bill followed the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which reintroduced measures previously rejected by the House of Lords. As with the previous act, this bill also received criticism in regards to declining civil liberties in the country. The Joint Committee on Human Rights "called for key measures in the legislation to be watered down or scrapped because the laws would have a "chilling effect" on people in England and Wales seeking to exercise their legitimate democratic rights."[6]
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- John, Tara; Mendonca, Duarte; Foster, Max (2 May 2023). "Parts of a controversial anti-protest law come into force ahead of King Charles' coronation". CNN. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- Allegretti, Aubrey (2 August 2023). "Anti-protest laws and culture wars weakening UK's democracy, finds report". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- Robertson, Adam (14 June 2023). "'Shameful' Labour peers abstain from key vote on 'draconian' anti-protest laws". The National. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- "New police powers to tackle slow-walking protests". BBC News. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- Specia, Megan; Bubola, Emma (9 May 2023). "U.K. Police 'Regret' Coronation Protest Arrests After Using New Powers". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ Barradale, Greg (18 October 2022). "The government's anti-protest bill is back. Here's what you might not know about it". The Big Issue.
- ^ "Controversial Public Order Bill passed in Westminster". HeraldScotland. 18 October 2022.
- ^ Bulbul, Nuray (19 October 2022). "What is the public order bill designed to crack down on 'disruptive' protests?". Evening Standard.
- ^ "Let the Irish Run the U.K. until the English Can Get This Omnishambles Together". Esquire. 21 October 2022.
- ^ "Ministers creating 'hostile environment' for protesters, say MPs". The Guardian. 16 June 2022.