In February, the prime minister warned that “mob rule is replacing democratic rule” in the UK. He encouraged police to take action on pro-Palestine protests which, he said, had descended into “intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence”. Over 50 organisations responded by accusing this government of placing draconian restrictions on the right to protest.

A UN expert has claimed that before the 1930s, it was almost unheard of for peaceful protesters to be imprisoned in the UK. But last year two climate protestors who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing received the longest sentences for peaceful protest in modern British history.

Are we witnessing a protest crackdown? Why are politicians referring to some protest groups as “extremists” and “militants”? And how can we defend the right to protest?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Akiko Hart, Director of Liberty, and Audrey Cherryl Mogan, Criminal Defence and Civil Liberties Barrister.

.......Music by Aldous Ichnite, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Amy Clancy, Margaret Welsh and James Rush.

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