The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) warns of the serious risks posed by the proposed amendments in the Crime and Policing Bill currently before the UK Parliament, particularly Clause 114, which threatens to severely restrict the right to peaceful protest under the guise of protecting places of worship.

Clause 114 would grant police sweeping powers to ban or restrict protests in the broadly defined "vicinity" of places of worship, based on vague and unsubstantiated claims. Since October 2023, solidarity campaigns with the Palestinian people have organised over 25 major national demonstrations across the United Kingdom, many of which have drawn hundreds of thousands of participants from diverse backgrounds, including large numbers of Jewish individuals and groups who oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Despite this unprecedented mobilisation, not a single incident has been recorded of any protest posing a direct threat to a place of worship, as acknowledged by the police themselves. Nevertheless, police authorities have repeatedly imposed exceptional restrictions on protest routes and timings, citing the mere presence of synagogues located hundreds of metres away, in clear violation of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression protected under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and enshrined in British law.

The PRC warns that passing Clause 114 would set a dangerous precedent, enabling political groups — by invoking religious sensitivities — to suppress popular movements opposing the assault on Gaza, effectively granting certain actors political veto power over legitimate protest activity in the UK’s public spaces. This reflects an alarming trend of politicising public order legislation to serve narrow agendas under the pretext of protecting religious freedoms.

The Centre reaffirms that both freedom of worship and the right to peaceful assembly are fundamental rights that must be protected equally. Any attempt to exploit one at the expense of the other for political ends constitutes a serious undermining of the United Kingdom’s democratic principles.

Accordingly, the Palestinian Return Centre calls on all Members of Parliament to:

The PRC further notes that it has already launched a direct advocacy campaign addressing UK Members of Parliament, outlining in detail the legal and human rights risks posed by this clause and urging them to take full responsibility in defending civil liberties and preventing the adoption of these dangerous amendments.