Two-tier policing fears as CPS orders crackdown on âoffensiveâ speech ahead of Unite the Kingdom rally
Suella Braverman said it was âintriguingâ that the body âchose not to post guidance like this before the numerous hate marches weâve seen in Londonâ
The Crown Prosecution Service has issued new guidance on âoffensive banners, slogans, chants or symbolsâ ahead of todayâs Unite the Kingdom rally in central London.
In a message on Friday afternoon, the CPS made clear prosecutors would be cracking down on anyone âstirring up hatredâ in the capital.
Two major rallies are set for later today: Tommy Robinsonâs Unite the Kingdom event, and a pro-Palestine Nakba Day march.
Prosecutors have been told to consider whether protest placards, banners and chants viewed on social media may amount to offences of stirring up hatred during the rallies.
It said the advice is designed to reflect âthe changing international contextâ.
The guidance also tells prosecutors to consider heightened tensions linked to national or international events.
âSome chants may amount to a criminal offence,â the CPS said.
Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, insisted the move was ânot about restricting free speechâ.
But he warned that words which âcause fear and intimidation within our communitiesâ may fall foul of the law.
Tommy Robinsonâs Unite the Kingdom event is slated to draw 50,000 people to the capital
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âThis is not about restricting free speech,â he said. âThis is about preventing crime, maintaining public order and protecting the public.â
But Suella Braverman, the former Attorney General-turned Reform UK MP, has accused the CPS of promoting âtwo-tier policingâ.
Mrs Braverman said: âHow intriguing that youâve chosen not to post guidance like this before the numerous hate marches weâve seen in London â all of which have involved antisemitic chants, slogans, symbols and banners.
âTwo-tier policing at its finest.â
The ex-Home Secretary levelled the same accusation at the Met last October when it stopped a Ukip march from going ahead in east London over fears of provoking the local Muslim community.
Suella Braverman accused the CPS of promoting âtwo-tier policingâ
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âThe message is that the right to protest depends not on the law but on who you are â and who might be offended by your presence,â she wrote in The Telegraph.
âCuriously, this same power to ban a march was not used for two years of pro-Palestine hate marches, many of which descended into open celebration of extremism and violence.â
Already, Sir Keir Starmer has banned 11 foreign nationals from entering the UK who were due to speak at the Unite the Kingdom event.
Downing Street claimed the move was intended âto protect British communities from vile hateâ.
PICTURED: Sir Sadiq Khan, Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Mark Rowley at a round table at a police command centre on Friday
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The rally, organised by Tommy Robinson, will be attended by around 50,000 participants.
The activist described it this morning as âthe greatest patriotic display the world has ever seenâ.
Some 30,000 more are set to march for Nakba Day.
That event marks the âNakbaâ â a day of mourning for when Palestinians left or were expelled from the country after Israel declared independence in 1948.
Speaking during a visit to a Metropolitan Police command centre in Lambeth on Friday, the PM then turned his fire on Unite the Kingdom organisers for âpeddling hatred and division, plain and simpleâ.
Sir Keir carried out his visit to Lambeth alongside Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan before todayâs rallies.
Sir Mark, seated in front of live CCTV images of different parts of the capital, told the PM: âWeâve got a time when hate crime has been escalated for the last two or three years.â
He added: âAnd then âsmall pâ politics and protest groups who have got more polarised and angry, and so both groups at the weekend have a track record of having an intimidatory effect on the communities.â
GB News has approached the CPS for comment regarding Mrs Bravermanâs remarks.


