The Metropolitan police have used controversial powers to stop and search protesters almost 50 times since they were introduced, with nearly all instances at a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration, a civil liberties group has found.
Police in England and Wales can carry out suspicionless stop and searches in relation to protest activity under section 11 of the Public Order Act 2023, which came into force on 20 December 2023.
Analysis by Big Brother Watch found the Met had used the powers against 47 demonstrators, 40 of whom were attending a Gaza protest by Youth Demand in July last year, which began in Russell Square Gardens, central London.
Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch, said: “When the Public Order Act was passed, civil liberties groups warned that these draconian new powers could be used to stifle protest rights.
“The apparent targeting of pro-Palestine protest in the prime minister’s constituency only underlines the danger these broadly drawn stop and search powers pose to our right to free assembly.
“This Met police data gives an alarming impression of police selectively targeting protesters. Zero arrests from 40 searches suggests that there was no justification for officers to use these powers at that protest.”
The section 11 power can be used when a police officer of inspector rank or above authorises its use in a specific area for a period not exceeding 24 hours. They must reasonably believe that an offence – such as public nuisance or locking on – may be committed in the area, or that people there might be carrying prohibited objects in relation to such offences.
While some rightwing figures have accused police of “two-tier policing”, alleging far-right protesters are treated more harshly, Big Brother Watch found that section 11 powers were not reported as having been used by forces during last year’s racially motivated riots after the Southport attack.
When the public order bill was going through parliament, MPs and peers on the human rights committee claimed it was creating a “hostile environment” for peaceful protests.
Earlier this month, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) wrote to the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the Met commissioner, Mark Rowley, expressing concern at the approach to Gaza protests.
Kishwer Falkner, the EHRC chair, said: “Heavy-handed policing or blanket approaches risk creating a chilling effect, deterring citizens from exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly through fear of possible consequences.”
A Met police spokesperson said: “We have a duty to intervene where protest activity causes serious disruption to the lives of the wider community, or where it crosses the line into criminality.
“We will consider all the powers available to us when responding to intelligence about crime and disorder, including carrying out searches where we believe it is likely people will have items on them that could be used to commit offences.
“Our policing approach is certainly not dependent on whose constituency a protest takes place in is. We are independent of politicians and police without fear or favour.”
