Public Order Act 2023

The act introduces new offences for locking on (with 51-week sentences), interfering with key national infrastructure, obstructing major transport works, causing serious disruption by tunnelling, greater stop and search powers to prevent disruptive protests (including without suspicion), and "Serious Disruption Prevention Orders" "which can restrict people's freedom by imposing conditions on repeat offenders". such as "the current outbreak of climate protests across Britain". Measures previously rejected by the House of Lords in consideration of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, including banning individuals from protests, were reintroduced. The act also includes measures to create safe access zones around abortion clinics with a radius of 150 metres. These provisions were brought into force in 2024. ==Legislative history==

The bill was announced in the Queen's speech on 10 May 2022. In October 2022, MPs passed the bill by 276 votes to 231. In January 2023, the House of Lords overturned plans to increase police powers to allow them to restrict protests by 254 votes to 240 and added a clause restricting protests within 150 metres of an abortion clinic. In March, the House of Commons upheld the abortion-related provision, on which the Conservative Party permitted a free vote, by 299 votes to 116. Meanwhile, other amendments made by the House of Lords, including those limiting the powers police officers would be granted under the law, were rejected. Following a months-long parliamentary ping-pong, conflicts between the two Houses were ultimately resolved on 26 April 2023, when the Lords decided by voice vote not to insist on amendments the Commons disagreed with. The bill received royal assent by King Charles III on 2 May 2023 and became an act of Parliament. The sections of the act creating the offences related to locking on as well as interference with key national infrastructure came into force by statutory instrument on 3 May 2023. On 2 July 2023, the sections of the act creating the offences related to tunnelling and obstruction of major transport works came into force, along with the section creating a requirement that police cannot use their powers solely to prevent individuals from observing or reporting on a protest. On 4 April 2024, regulations were made to bring into force the provisions relating to serious disruption prevention orders with effect from 5 April 2024. == Criticism ==

In October 2022, the Parliament of the United Kingdom's Joint Committee on Human Rights said: In November, writing for the Financial Times, formerly Conservative peer Camilla Cavendish called the bill "... an affront to a civilised society". The bill was also criticised by Amnesty International and Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. ==See also==