Cenotaph protest offence comes ‘at expense’ of other proposed crimes, MP warns

Criminalising protesters who climb on the Cenotaph could come “at the expense” of other proposed offences, a Liberal Democrat frontbencher has warned.

Lisa Smart told the Commons her party “would be protecting the important right to protest rather than making it harder for this right to be exercised”.

These include the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, both in London, the Liverpool Cenotaph, the Plymouth Naval War Memorial, and The Response in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Labour MP Kim Johnson called on the Government to “roll back” some of the powers that police can use against protesters, introduced under the previous Conservative government.

Debating the Bill, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokeswoman Ms Smart told the Commons: “If this were a Lib Dem bill, we wouldn’t be talking quite as much about criminalising those who climb on specific war memorials and we would be protecting the important right to protest rather than making it harder for this right to be exercised.”

Gregory Stafford, the Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon, intervened in the Liberal Democrat’s speech and asked: “Is she saying that she does not think or she does think that climbing on and desecrating our war memorials is an acceptable behaviour, and that she’d be very happy for that behaviour to carry on?”

Ms Smart replied: “What I said was, if it were a Lib Dem bill – which I look forward to moving in the fullness of time – we would not be spending as much time talking about this as a criminal act.

“There are so many priorities for this Government, and I will talk about a number of things that we are disappointed not to see in here at the expense of one of the 340 pages of the Bill, talking about the issue (Mr Stafford) raises.”

The MP for Hazel Grove said a “crackdown on the water companies that pollute our rivers with impunity” is missing from the Bill, as she urged the Government to make “sewage dumping” a specific criminal offence.

She also said the Bill failed “to make reference to rural crime”.

In addition to creating a new offence of climbing on specified war memorials, the Bill would, if passed, ban “pyrotechnic articles” which can produce light and smoke at demonstrations.

Ms Johnson, the MP for Liverpool Riverside, later described a “dangerous direction of travel of the increasing criminalisation of legitimate and peaceful protest in this country which, as many here today will recognise, is being mirrored around the world”.

She referred to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and Public Order Act 2023, as she described “wide-ranging new powers” which let police bring in conditions on protests that cause disruption or serious annoyance.

Ms Johnson said: “We cannot underestimate the chilling impact that this heavy-handed policing of peaceful protest will have on our basic rights and freedoms, from striking workers to the national Palestine demos, to the farmers’ protests.

“Huge demonstrations and protests are becoming more commonplace right across the political spectrum as people across the country and beyond feel they are losing their voices in their workplaces and the political sphere.

“And instead of continuing down this dangerous road, we should be taking the opportunity that this Bill presents to roll back on some of these powers, defend our civil liberties and restore our proud traditions of freedom of speech, expression and assembly.”