THE Scottish Government has said it "will consider" Labour Government plans to give the police greater powers to restrict protests.
It comes in response to Sunday's announcement with police set to be given greater powers in England and Wales to restrict protests by allowing them to consider the “cumulative impact” of repeated demonstrations.
The plans have been branded "ludicrous" by rights organisations such as Amnesty International, which argued they are a rehash of measures previously ruled unlawful.
The UK government has previously proposed amendments to Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, spearheaded by Suella Braverman in 2023. But in May 2024, the High Court ruled that certain regulations issued under these amendments were not lawful.
The measures follow frequent pro-Palestine demonstrations, including protests in Edinburgh and Glasgow railway stations.
Protests were called across the UK on Thursday in response to Israel's interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which saw four Scots among nearly 500 people who were detained and imprisoned by Israel.
The protests took place on the same day a terror attack took place at a synagogue in Manchester, where two people were killed.
The Scottish Government said it has not yet seen the UK Government's proposals but would "consider their relevance to Scotland", The Scotsman reports.
A spokesperson stressed "the right to peaceful public assembly and freedom of expression", adding that it should "never justify hateful, violent, intimidating or criminal behaviour".
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The right to peaceful public assembly and freedom of expression are important rights that the Scottish Government is committed to upholding. The right to peaceful public assembly and expression should never justify hateful, violent, intimidating or criminal behaviour.
“Police Scotland has powers under the Public Order Act 1986 to maintain public safety and order. We have not yet seen details of the UK Government's proposals and will consider their relevance to Scotland when we have further information.”
Over the weekend, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said repeated large-scale protests had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community.
The Labour Government plans to amend Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to explicitly allow the police to take account of the "cumulative impact" of frequent protests on local areas in order to impose conditions on public processions and assemblies.
Mahmood is also set to review existing legislation to ensure powers are sufficient and are being applied consistently by police forces – this will include powers to ban protests outright.
The measures will not apply to Scotland because policing and justice are devolved matters.
