Rioting and protesting are both activities that many would consider annoying. Yet, they are very different. Rioting, is a totally illegal activity, and the rioter in question punched a police officer in the face – he was given 3 years in prison. The Just Stop Oil protester was involved in a zoom call to talk about blocking the M25 and was given 5 years.
Peaceful protest is a protected right in the UK. It is true, that blocking a motorway is not covered, but there is an increasing part of the UK population which are so worried about this, and the governments low priority of this, that they could condone action like motorway blocking.
This law was only passed in 2022, and appears to be a direct attack on the right to peaceful protest. With Labour having recently taken power, we would hope that this ridiculous expansion of powers, and destruction of long-valued British rights might get reversed, but we will have to wait and see.
