We must resist the ongoing attack on the right to protest!
CND condemns the Public Order Act 2023, which targets peaceful demonstrators and aims to prevent protest.
READ OUR GUIDE TO THE PUBLIC ORDER ACT
The act broadens the scope in which police can arrest protesters, alongside draconian punishments including jail time and unlimited fines. Key elements attack historic and peaceful methods used by anti-nuclear campaigners.
New police powers allow them to use stop and search on people they suspect of intending to carry out peaceful disruption. Those who block roads, railways, or airports can face sentences of up to 12 months’ imprisonment.
And locking-on to objects or buildings is now an offence which can carry a six-month prison sentence, unlimited fines, or both. From Greenham Common to blockading the DSEI arms fair or Britain’s nuclear weapons at Faslane or Aldermaston, locking-on is a time-honoured and effective tactic used by the peace movement to highlight the insanity of nuclear weapons and unjustness of war.
CND is supporting the Not My Bill campaign alongside dozens of other organisations – united we will stand up for the right to protest, a cornerstone of any democracy.