Open Letter: UK Government must stop crackdown on freedom of expression

8 March 2024 

To the Prime Minister, 

RE: Government proposals to crack down on the right to protest and free expression 

We, the undersigned, write with great concern about recent proposals that will further restrict the rights of everyone in the UK.

It is the responsibility of any government to ensure that all people can fully exercise their rights, and that fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly are only interfered with when strictly necessary and in a lawful, proportionate way. 

That is why we are greatly concerned by the ‘Defending Democracy Policing Protocol’, published a few days ago, which would further add to a chaotic patchwork of repressive legislation and policing powers that has placed undue restrictions on the right to protest in this country. The protocol outlines new restrictive proposals, some of which relate to protest locations. Many locations listed, such as the Palace of Westminster, outside constituency offices, town halls or the venue of a political event are perfectly normal locations for protest. Existing legislation already governs if violent or other criminal activity occurs, but the words used by senior politicians suggest these locations are in and of themselves no longer to be treated as acceptable locations of protest. The Protocol misrepresents the law and risks having a chilling effect on individuals’ ability to exercise their right to protest in this country. 

In addition, we have wider concerns about the manner in which your government has come to discuss protesters and others that engage in legitimate political activity on important issues of the day. Our organisations have emphasised the necessity of using considered language in recent months. Yet the deployment of certain terms, such as ’extremism’, ‘radical’, ‘hate mobs’, by your government creates division and exacerbates existing fears amongst minoritised communities. For some, such as neurodiverse people and Muslims, they will be greatly worried by announcements to redouble support for the Prevent duty, which infringes on freedom of expression, association, assembly and the right to non-discrimination. 

As an open society, we should value engagement with all, including our critics and those who see the world differently from us. That is why proposals from Ministers on the definition of extremism or Government Advisors on banning engagement with certain groups is deeply worrying. There have already been concerns that the current definition of extremism is too broad, including from the former Head of Counter-Terrorism Policing.  

There is a different path to the above, one where your government facilitates the right of everyone to have their voices heard. It is our collective responsibility to set a reasoned tone for any discussion; the language that has been used in recent weeks and months has not met this important bar.  Instead, the government has sought to demonise an overwhelmingly peaceful movement of individuals calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel, who are concerned and outraged by the catastrophic loss of life that we are all witnessing. 

We strongly urge the government to: 

• Reverse the recent crack-down on the right to protest and stop conflating protests with extremism; 

• Abandon the expansion of the definition of extremism and proposals to bar MPs from engaging with certain groups; 

• Refrain from amplifying divisive language which could inflame tensions within and between communities. 

Signed 

1. Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive Officer, Amnesty International UK 

2. Chris Rose, Director, Amos Trust  

3. Article 19 

4. Dr Sara Husseini, Director, British Palestinian Committee  

5. CAGE  

6. Leo Ratledge and Lianne Minasian, Co-Directors, Childrens Rights International Network  

7. Christian Aid 

8. Nick Gardham, Chief Executive Officer, Community Organisers  

9. Jennifer Nadel, Co-Director, Compassion in Politics  

10. Chris Doyle, Director, Council for Arab-British Understanding  

11. Tim Livesey, Chief Executive, Embrace the Middle East 

12. Daniel Gorman, Director, English PEN  

13. Giovanni Fassina, Programme Director, European Legal Support Centre  

14. Hugh Knowles and Miriam Turner, Co-Executive Directors, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)  

15. Sarah Mann, Chief Executive Officer, Friends Families and Travellers  

16. Eva Tabassam, Director, Gender Action for Peace and Security  

17. Nick Dearden, Director, Global Justice Now 

18. Will McCallum and Areeba Hamid, Co-Executive Directors, Greenpeace UK  

19. James Harrison, Director, Institute of Employment Rights  

20. Liz Fekete, Director, Institute of Race Relations  

21. Sarah Castell, Chief Executive Officer, Involve 

22. Tareq Shrourou, Executive Director, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights  

23. Akiko Hart, Director, Liberty 

24. Aimee Shalan, Director, Makan  

25. Raheel Mohammed, Director, Maslaha  

26. James Skinner, Co-Director, MedAct  

27. Raghad Altikritti, Chairperson, Muslim Association of Britain 

28. Zara Mohammed, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain  

29. Azhar Qayum, Chief Executive Officer, Muslim Engagement and Development  

30. Naomi Magnus and Ros Edwards, Directors, Na’amod  

31. Kevin Blowe, Campaigns Coordinator, Netpol  

32. Northern Police Monitoring Project 

33. Mark Kieran, Chief Executive Officer, Open Britain  

34. Jim Killock, Executive Director, Open Rights Group  

35. Oxfam GB  

36. Ben Jamal, Director, Palestine Solidarity Campaign 

37. Layla Aitlhadj, Director, Prevent Watch  

38. Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, Quakers in Britain  

39. Michael Buraimoh, Chief Executive Officer, Race on the Agenda  

40. Shabna Begum, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Runnymede Trust  

41. The Democracy Network  

42. John Cooper, Director, The Fellowship of Reconciliation  

43. Clare Farrell, The Humanity Project  

44. Katrina Ffrench, Founder and Managing Director, UNJUST  

45. Tessa Khan, Founder and Executive Director, Uplift  

46. Asad Rehman, Executive Director, War on Want