The government and local lawmakers denounced the “Kill the Bill” protest after protesters clashed with police, attacked a police station and left some officers with broken bones on Sunday evening.
“Brutality and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated,” tweeted UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, who described the scenes as “unacceptable”.
The event had begun as a demonstration against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s flagship police bill, which critics say would give police and ministers powers that could severely curb citizens’ ability to protest peacefully.
But tensions escalated as the protest unfolded on Sunday, leading to violent scenes that have been condemned by officials and lawmakers across the political spectrum.
“Officers have been subjected to considerable levels of abuse and violence. One suffered a broken arm and another broke his ribs. Both have been taken to hospital,” Avon and Somerset police said on Sunday. at night. “They should never be subjected to assault or abuse in this way. At least two police vehicles have been set on fire and damage has been caused to the outside of the station.”
Andy Roebuck, president of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, called the protesters a “crowd of animals”, while the national president of the England and Wales Police Federation, John Apter, questioned their reasons. “It’s not about protecting the right to protest, it’s about the violent crime of a strong minority that will hijack any situation for their own purposes,” he said.
And local MP Darren Jones, of the opposition Labor party, said: “Don’t campaign for the right to a peaceful protest by setting fire to police vans or painting buildings.”
Metropolitan Police Officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard earlier this month, in a case that has been intensely followed and led to a renewed national discussion about intimidation, harassment and violence against the women.
But police also became the object of anger, when on March 13 they settled into a peaceful vigil at Everard in south London and appeared to force women into the land, an approach that has led to a review and control of the pending legislation would increase its powers to dismantle protests and mass rallies in the future.
Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said he had “major concerns about the bill, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free speech and the right to peaceful protest.”
But he condemned violent protesters in his city to make the bill more likely to pass. “Breaking down buildings in our city center, vandalizing vehicles, attacking our police, will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the bill passing. On the contrary, the illegality shown will be used as evidence and promote the need for the bill “.
The bill was debated in Parliament last week. He suggests, in somewhat imprecise language, that demonstrations and protests should not cause “inconvenience” in an “intentional” or “reckless” manner, and elsewhere says that damage to monuments could result in punishment of up to 10 years in prison – a clause seen in response to Black Lives Matter protesters, who demolished or condemned the statues of slave traders in Bristol and elsewhere last year.