Overview

• The Home Office announced rapid amendments to Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act to let police consider the cumulative impact of repeated demonstrations when imposing conditions or moving events.
• Officials said the powers are aimed at frequent Gaza-linked protests and actions supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action, with further details to follow.
• The move follows 492 arrests at a Trafalgar Square sit-in backing Palestine Action, where about 1,000 people took part despite calls to postpone after the Manchester synagogue killings.
• Amnesty International criticised the mass arrests as breaching UK human-rights obligations, while the Metropolitan Police Federation reported officers are physically and emotionally exhausted.
• Police forces across England and Wales are working with the Community Security Trust to bolster protection at 538 synagogues and Jewish community sites, and ministers are reviewing whether broader protest bans need strengthening.