London, SAEDNEWS: The proposed law, entitled “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts” bill, will allow police officers to take tougher measures to disperse demonstrations, such as imposing time and noise limits, which campaigners and activists fear would be used to curb dissent.
“Kill the bill” marches were held in dozens of towns and cities, supported by big campaign groups such as climate change campaigners Extinction Rebellion and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the main opposition Labor Party, was among those who took part in one of the marches held in London.
“(I’m here) to defend the rights of free speech, and the rights of organisations in our society,” he said, according to Reuters.
“These demonstrations, 50 of them today, will make a difference,” he added opposite the Houses of Parliament.
Nearly all marches held on Saturday passed off peacefully but there were minor scuffles in central London between protesters and police following a rally attended by several thousand people.
There have been 26 arrests and 10 officers were injured, although none seriously, said London’s Metropolitan Police, which deployed a large number of officers in the capital to bring the protest to an end.
“The vast majority of people who turned out in central London today did so while adhering to social distancing,” said Commander Ade Adelekan. “However, a small minority did not engage despite the repeated efforts of officers on the ground.
“This left us with no option but to move to an enforcement stage and arrests have been made.”
Much of the protest so far has been focused in the southwestern English city of Bristol. Some demonstrations there have turned violent, with officers bombarded with missiles and police vehicles set on fire, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson described as “disgraceful attacks”.
A large crowd gathered again in Bristol on Saturday evening, although the rally remained peaceful.
Some senior officers have said the “kill the bill” tag was deliberately provocative as “the bill” is a nickname in Britain for the police (Source: Press TV).
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