Scotland Yard is seeking new legal powers to help it stop Extinction Rebellion and other protesters bringing parts of the capital to a standstill.
In a submission to the Home Office, Met chiefs have asked for a change in the law to make it possible to prohibit people freed on bail from immediately returning to a protest to commit new offences by blocking the streets again.
The force also wants extra powers to allow it to stop campaigners bringing items ranging from boats to furniture to protests to use as barriers to traffic.
Both this tactic and the return of arrested protesters were key features of the Extinction Rebellion protests in London in April when environmental campaigners halted traffic for days by setting up a camp around a boat in the middle of Oxford Circus.
The Met also wants ministers to update existing powers under Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act to increase their effectiveness.
The first allows police to impose conditions on public processions. The second allows officers to order protesters to confine demonstration to a particular place, to keep numbers down, and when to end it.
The police request — which is understood to have been received favourably — comes ahead of a planned 10-day protest by Extinction Rebellion in London due to start next week. It aims to block at least 11 sites, including
Westminster and Lambeth Bridges and several streets in the area, as part of a campaign to force the Government to take swifter, more extensive action on climate change.
The organisers say they expect “thousands more ordinary citizens” including “parents, builders, footballers, doctors, teachers, musicians, scientists, CEOs, farmers” to take part.
In a statement today the Met said it was liaising with Extinction Rebellion in an attempt to reduce any disruption.
But the force warned that the protest was “co-ordinated, planned, and designed to cause maximum impact on those who live, work and visit London for 24 hours over two weeks” and that it would take robust action against law-breakers.
The Met added: “The policing plan is well resourced and flexible to be able to respond to the activities of this group. We will take action against any individual who engages in criminal activity and this includes seizing any property that forms part of unlawful activity.”
Meanwhile, latest Met statistics show 256 people have already been convicted of offences during the Extinction Rebellion protest in April. Although many received a conditional discharge, police say this is still a criminal conviction that can have a lasting impact, including on travel to countries such as the US.
