Protesters smash police windows and attack officers’ van amid ‘Kill the Bill’ march in Bristol

645

View
comments

Hundreds have gathered in Bristol city centre where a police station is ‘under siege’ as violent protesters are pictured smashing through the building’s windows and directing fireworks at police officers, a number of whom have suffered broken arms and ribs.

The gathering began as a protest against restrictions on non-violent protest at College Green in the city centre this afternoon, it has since moved to Bridewell Police Station where a standoff is taking place.

Tensions rose this evening as police donned riot gear, with police dogs and horses brought in to control the growing crowds. Police vans have been set alight and fireworks and ‘projectiles’ thrown at officers.

Protesters gathered to demonstrate against a controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which would give the police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance. 

Those convicted under the proposed legislation could face a fine or jail. Mass gatherings are currently banned under coronavirus legislation and anyone breaching the regulations could be fined. 

Protesters carried placards with slogans such as ‘The Day Democracy Became Dictatorship’ and ‘We Can’t Be Silenced That Easy’. 

Andy Roebuck, chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, said: ‘Disgusting scenes in Bristol by a mob of animals who are injuring police officers, members of the public and damaging property.

‘Avon and Somerset Police Federation are attending stations to support officers. We have officers with suspected broken arms and ribs. This is so wrong.’ 

Avon and Somerset Police said: ‘Officers … have had projectiles thrown at them, including a firework, and have been verbally abused. This is unacceptable behaviour and those responsible for offences will be identified and brought to justice.’ 

Scroll down for video. 

Avon and Somerset Police had urged people not to attend the demonstration – warning that enforcement action could be taken.  

The government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill, currently going through parliament, would give police new powers to impose time and noise limits on street protests.

That has angered activists, particularly since a heavy-handed police response to a London vigil for murder victim Sarah Everard on March 13 caused widespread outrage and criticism of the police.

The man suspected of Everard’s murder is a police officer, and the case has unleashed an outpouring of grief and rage over the issue of violence against women and girls.

The government bill pre-dated the Everard case and covers a wide range of policy areas as well as the policing of protests. However, the two became connected in many people’s minds because, by coincidence, the bill was up for debate in parliament two days after the London vigil.  

Footage taken in Bristol city centre showed the moment protesters almost overturned a police van they had defaced with graffiti, before officers in riot gear pushed them back with batons.  

Earlier today a spokesman for the force said: ‘Officers are engaging with a number of people who’ve turned up at the protest. We’d like to thank those who’ve agreed to leave for their understanding of why it’s still important to follow Covid-19 restrictions and protect all our communities from this virus.’

A separate event for Reclaim the Streets – who are protesting violence against women in the wake of Sarah Everard’s death in London – is taking place in Newcastle.

Pictures show a large group gathering and a female protester being pinned to the ground by four police officers.  

She was told to move and when she refused, police responded by taking her to the floor, where she was handcuffed before being put in a van.

In a video shot at the scene close to Grey’s Monument in the city, the woman is visibly distressed and screaming as she is bundled into the back of the police vehicle.    

It is understood the woman was standing on her own when she was approached by the police more than an hour before it was set to start.

It also comes after dozens of people were arrested last night as police attempted to halt thousands of anti-lockdown protesters marching through the centre of London. 

The protests come after Home Secretary Priti Patel defended the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in Parliament earlier this week. 

However MPs including Theresa May raised concerns over the impact it will have on freedom of speech. 

The bill will see new powers given to the police and Home Secretary to deal with protests that are deemed to have caused ‘serious unease, alarm or distress’.

It will also raise the maximum sentence for defacing statues to 10 years, while new measures are also expected to crack down on knife crime. 

The bill has garnered controversy, particularly after Met Police officers were seen restraining women attending a vigil in memory of Sarah Everard in Clapham Common last month.

The bill will mean that home secretaries will be able to create laws to define what ‘serious disruption,’ to communities and organisations means. 

Speaking at the debate, on Monday night Ms Patel said peaceful protest was a ‘cornerstone of democracy,’ before adding: ‘The current legislation police use to manage protests, the Public Order Act 1986, was enacted over 30 years ago.  

‘In recent years we’ve seen significant change in protest tactics, with protesters exploiting gaps in the law which have led to disproportionate amounts of disruption.

Ms Patel said: ‘Last year we saw XR (Extinction Rebellion) block the passage of an ambulance on emergency calls, gluing themselves to trains during rush hour, blocking airport runways, preventing hundreds of hard-working people from going to work.’ 

However, former prime minister Theresa May argued: ‘Freedom of speech is an important right in our democracy, however annoying or uncomfortable sometimes that might be and I know there will be people who will have seen scenes of protest and will have said, ‘why isn’t the Government doing something?’, to which the answer in many cases may simply be because we live in a democratic, free society.’

Ms May added: ‘It’s tempting with the Home Secretary to think that giving powers to the Home Secretary is very reasonable because we all think we’re reasonable, but actually future home secretaries may not be so reasonable and I wonder if the Government would be willing to publish a draft of those regulations during passage of the Bill so we can actually see what that is going to be and make sure that it is not also encroaching on the operational decisions of the police.

‘So there are very important elements of this Bill, but I would urge the Government to consider carefully the need to walk a fine line between being popular and populist. Our freedoms depend on it.’

The bill passed its second reading earlier this week, despite Labour voting against it.

MPs voted 359 to 263, a majority of 96, at second reading, the first significant Commons test of a bill. 

As the bill was voted through, protesters had gathered outside the Palace of Westminster to rally against both the legislation and also the police.

But it has been reported by Cambridgeshire Live that it has since been delayed.

According to the Labour MP Victims and Youth Justice Shadow Minister Peter Kyle, the bill committee has been ‘pulled’ and ‘won’t start until later in the year’.

The Policing Bill was part of the Conservative 2019 manifesto but elements raised eyebrows from MPs on the party’s libertarian wing.

The draft legislation includes an offence of ‘intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance’, and someone will be judged to have committed this crime if they cause ‘serious harm to the public’, which can include ‘serious annoyance, serious inconvenience or serious loss of amenity’, with those convicted potentially facing a fine or jail.

The ‘serious annoyance’ element of the criteria has prompted a furious backlash from critics who warn the laws could pose a threat to free speech rights and the right to protest.

Labour voted against the bill, and shortly after the vote Sir Keir Starmer railed against it in a Twitter video, branding the Government’s priorities ‘completely wrong’.

He said: ‘The Conservatives have just voted for legislation to increase prison sentences for those damaging statues. But does nothing to address violence towards women and girls.’

A spokesperson for the Home Office tonight told MailOnline that people should not currently be protesting due to lockdown laws. Blanket restrictions on protesting are due to be lifted later this month.