Home secretary Suella Braverman says 'enough is enough' as she pushes law against 'highly disruptive' protests

The new powers would allow police to intervene before protests become ‘highly disruptive’ and give police greater clarity about dealing with demonstrators blocking roads or slow marching, the government said.

The amendments to the Public Order Bill are aimed at curbing the guerrilla tactics used by groups such as Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion.

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On Monday, the bill reached the report stage in the House of Lords, with debates on measures used by some protesters such as locking-on and tunnelling, the thresholds at which the police can intervene, and new stop and search powers.

Ahead of the debate, Fareham MP Suella Braverman said: ‘Enough is enough. Blocking motorways and slow walking in roads delays our life-saving emergency services, stops people getting to work and drains police resources.

‘Around 75 days of Just Stop Oil action alone cost the taxpayer £12.5m in policing response. This is simply not fair on the British public,’ the home secretary added.

‘Our Public Order Bill will see proper penalties for the small minority using guerrilla tactics to hold the public to ransom under the guise of ‘protest’.

‘Having listened to the police, we need to clarify what constitutes serious disruption in law, so officers can take much quicker action to protect the public and prevent days on end of gridlock on our roads.

‘I urge colleagues across the House of Lords to pass this measure tonight – it is our duty to stand up for the law-abiding public and protect their right to go about their business.’

Under the proposed changes, police would not need to wait for disruption to take place and could shut demonstrations down before they escalate.

Officers would be able to take into consideration long-running campaigns designed to cause repeat disruption over a period of days or weeks.

The Public Order Bill is considered a successor to the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act passed last year, which was criticised for introducing curbs on the right to protest.