Government attempt to ban Just Stop Oil protests thrown out by House of Lords

Government attempt to bar protest ‘issue of current debate’ being legal defence thrown out

The laws are a response to disruptive protests by Just Stop Oil and other environmental groups (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

A government bid to ban “slow marching” protests has been thrown out by the House of Lords amid a series of heavy defeats for the controversial Public Order Bill.

The law is a reaction to protests by groups including Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain, and a series of legal battles over whether protesters are committing a crime by blocking roads.

A change that would have lowered the threshold for police intervention in demonstrations with a wide definition of “serious disruption” was narrowly rejected by 254 to 240 votes.