Police breached "fundamental rights" in response to Bristol Kill the Bill protests
A report by an All Party Parliamentary Group of MPs has heavily criticised Avon and Somerset Police
Avon and Somerset Police breached "fundamental rights" in their handling of the Kill the Bill protests in Bristol.
That's what a report from The All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy and Constitution has concluded.
It claims coronavrius lockdown laws were wrongly applied and excessive force was used against peaceful protestors.
The first protest on March 21 ended in a riot, with police vehicles set alight and Bridewell Police Station attacked.
However, in several future demonstrations officers forcibly broke up peaceful gatherings and were even caught on camera manhandling members of the media.
The group of MPs and peers has proposed amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC), which is due to be debated on Monday, as a result of the findings.
Inquiry chairman, the Labour MP Geraint Davies, said the right to peaceful protest "must be supported not suppressed by the law''.
"The police must not become the enforcement agency of the state against those who choose to publicly and collectively call for change - political, economic, social or environmental," he said.
"Parliament must protect our freedoms and reject attempts to increase police power and restrict our right to peaceful protest.
"The police should help to facilitate the expression of peaceful protest and not drive opposition underground.''
The report says officers "failed to understand their legal duties in respect of protest'' and "failed to conduct a proper assessment of the proportionality of their actions''.
It acknowledges the police faced real violence, but that they "failed to distinguish between those protesting peacefully and those engaged in acts of violence'' and used "excessive force against peaceful protestors''.
In a long and strongly worded statement sent to us in response, Avon and Somerset Police say they "reject any suggestion" that they did not facilitate peaceful protest.
"We made repeated attempts to engage with organisers before each event and in the majority of cases, no-one identified themselves as being in that role," they say.
"When the events took place, on each occasion protestors were provided with ample opportunity to make their voices heard before officers gave clear directions for them to disperse.
"We absolutely recognised their right to peaceful protest but we had to balance the significant risk to public health, taking into consideration the regulations in place at the time, and the rights of the wider public to go about their daily lives without disruption."
They add that they "utterly reject" a suggestion made in the report, that some use of force by officers may amount to criminal offences.
"Concerns around disproportionate or excessive force relating to the use of shield strikes have been fully investigated by our Professional Standards Department (PSD) and we’re confident officers acted appropriately...
"The use of shield strikes is a College of Policing approved tactic for public order policing – including in situations where officers’ shields are being grabbed or pulled.
"Specifically in relation to Sunday 21 March, we remain in the middle of one of the largest investigations ever carried out by Avon and Somerset Police, after police vehicles were damaged and set alight, officers were assaulted and our neighbourhood police station was vandalised during a riot.
"So far we’ve made 69 arrests with 21 people charged, of which 18 have been charged with riot. Three people have already admitted a charge of riot and await sentencing."
The Parliamentary Report has suggested several changes to the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill, about which people were demonstrating, which proposes new limits on the right to protest.
The findings deemed new proposed powers unnecessary'' and found they placed police in anunfair position'' as officers will be able to decide if protests go ahead and under what conditions'', eroding thelegitimacy of the police as a non-political service''.
The report has also suggested a code should be created which would place a duty'' on police to facilitate peaceful protest and allow people to bring legal action against forces if breached.
The government though, says public order laws are not out of date and the proposed Bill would not curtail the right to peaceful protest.