In Depth:  en staff / Reform Clause 1

On January 8, the government suffered a heavy defeat on plans to introduce legislation which would have potentially outlawed behaviour such as street preaching and political protests, with 306 peers voting against the Bill.

Sir Edward Leigh MP commented: ‘The House of Lords has sent a very clear message to the government that their plans to outlaw annoying and nuisance behaviour are unclear, represent muddled thinking and could have a chilling effect on free speech. Despite repeated questions, the government side failed to give a single example of thug-gish and loutish behaviour that would not be caught by the existing ASBO wording. The Lords proposed the threshold for the Injunctions to Prevent Nuisance or Annoyance (IPNA) should include “harassment, alarm and distress” ’.