Key measures of the act that received public attention included: • Part III, sections 34–39 which substantially changed the
right to silence of an accused person, allowing for inferences to be drawn from their silence when cautioned by a constable or other non-police individuals charged with the duty of investigating offences. • Part IV, sections 54–59 which gave the police greater rights to take and retain intimate body samples. • Part IV, section 60 which increased police powers of unsupervised
stop and search. • The whole of Part V covered collective
trespass and nuisance on land and included sections against
raves and further sections against disruptive trespass,
squatters, and unauthorised campers – most significantly the criminalisation of previously civil offences. This affected many forms of protest including
hunt sabotage and
anti-road protests. Sections 63–67 in particular defined any gathering of 20 or more people where: • Part V, section 80, which repealed the duty imposed on councils by the
Caravan Sites Act 1968 to provide sites for
gypsy and
traveller use. Grant aid for the provision of sites was also withdrawn. • Part VII, which handled "obscenity and pornography", banning simulated
child pornography, harshening provisions dealing with the censorship and age restriction of videos (as administered by the British Board of Film Classification
BBFC), and also increasing the penalty on obscene phone calls. • Part XI, which dealt with sexual offences. The definition of
rape was extended to include anal rape, previously prosecuted as
buggery. This offence was disestablished, as Section 143 – though not given much consideration – legalised
anal sex between heterosexual couples over the age of 18. It had been legal for homosexual couples over the age of 21 since 1967. Section 145 lowered the age at which
homosexual acts were legal, from 21 years to 18: this latter provision was introduced in the Bill after an amendment by
Anthony Durant to that effect had passed in the House of Commons by a vote of 427 to 162 (a majority of 265). In the House of Lords, an attempt to remove section 145 (and as such retain 21 as the age of consent for gay sex) was rejected by a vote of 176 to 113 (a majority of 63). During consideration of the bill, another amendment, introduced by
Edwina Currie, which would have further reduced the age of consent for homosexual acts to 16 (thereby equating it with that for heterosexual sex), ended up failing 280–307 (a majority of 27). Analysis of the division list revealed that 42
Conservative MPs had supported equalisation, and the motion would have been carried but for the opposing votes of 38
Labour MPs. In the House of Lords,
Lord McIntosh also tried to introduce a provision equalizing the age of consent, but was not successful, with his motion ultimately failing 73–245 (a majority of 172). Most of this section was replaced with the
Sexual Offences Act 2003. • Part XII, which was a miscellany, and included the notice that the "Offence of racially inflammatory publication etc. [was henceforth] to be arrestable", although this was later to be modified by the
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Part XII also criminalised the use of cells from embryos and foetuses. ==Opposition and protest==