Stella Creasy suggests government should scrap law making it offence to express support for proscribed organisation
The Labour MP Stella Creasy has urged the government to get rid of the law making it an offence to “recklessly express support for a proscribed organisation”.
In a Commons urgent question, triggered by the arrest of almost 900 people in London on Saturday for protesting against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, she said she thought the current law was flawed.
Under the Terrorism Act, once an organisation is proscribed, it is not just illegal to be a member; just expressing support for it is an offence.
Creasy said she was not speaking as a supporter of Palestine Action, and she said the case to act against them was “strong” because of their use of violence.
But she said the current situation, which has led to hundreds of people being arrested for holding up banners saying the support Palestine Action, was “just not sustainable”. She explained:
There is a difference between people protesting using violence and people protesting the use of proscription.
If we don’t get right the response, if we continue to arrest those in that second category, the seriousness the term terrorism risks losing its meaning, becoming diluted rather than strengthened.
Proscription was supposedly about stopping those inciting direct harm and violence.
Going after somebody with a poster testing the boundaries of liberty – many of whom are clear they don’t support Palestine Action and feel strongly about Palestinian rights or free speech – confuses rather than clarifies the government’s intention ..
Legislation on public order focuses on specific acts. Proscription orders target specific terrorist groups. Nothing sits in between this.
Creasy said the police should be focusing on people who actually are members of Palestine Action. If the government was not willing to abolish the offence of recklessly expressing support for a proscribed group, it should at least give the police guidance on when the offence should be used, she said.
In response, Dan Jarvis, the security minister, cited a recent Observer article by Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, in which he defended the use of the legislation against Palestine Action. Hall said:
There is no way ordinary criminal law would be effective against funding, training and recruitment [by Palestine Action] …
The motives of those who say “I support Palestine Action” are not always easy to discern. Rather than saying “I support Palestine” or “I oppose the proscription of Palestine Action”, a small number of demonstrators have gone out of their way to invite arrest. I am not sure that this makes the law ridiculous or heavy-handed.
Shorn of the power to arrest and prosecute those who display support in public, the police’s role in preventing the growth and operation of Palestine Action would be that much harder.
Jarvis quote an extract from the article and said the government had a duty to ensure public safety.
Earlier today Creasy did not rule out standing to be Labour’s deputy leader. (See 1.50pm.)
Stella Creasy asking her UQ Photograph: Commons TVShare
Updated at 19.43 CEST
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Early evening summary
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The Labour MP Stella Creasy, who has not ruled out running for the deputy leadership, has urged the government to get rid of the law making it an offence to “recklessly express support for a proscribed organisation”. (See 4.34pm.)
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Security minister Dan Jarvis says it would have been ‘highly irresponsible’ to ignore expert advice about proscribing Palestine Action
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Responding to the urgent question tabled by Stella Creasy (see 4.34pm), Jarvis said advice given to the Home Office said the group had met tests to be banned under the Terrorism Act 2000. He went on:
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2020 Labour deputy leadership results Photograph: WikipediaShare
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