Brits demand the right to peaceful protest

Half of British adults think the police are too heavy handed during peaceful protests, according to the results of a new YouGov poll.

The Christian Aid commissioned study found 50% of people think the police are too violent towards peaceful protesters.

A third (33%) of the 2,000 people polled believe that police filming protesters is an invasion of privacy and is another example of Britain becoming a “Big Brother” society.

One in five (18%) said they’d think twice about taking part in future protests because of the way police dealt with peaceful activists during the G20 summit in London earlier this year.

“It’s worrying that recent incidents involving the police at peaceful protests have made members of the public think twice about taking part in future peaceful demonstrations,” said Paul Brannen, Christian Aid’s head of campaigns.

“It is very important we give people the opportunity to protest peacefully about issues that matter to them and help the public to hold the government to account,” he added.

“Campaigning on issues such as climate change and how it affects the poor is a vital part of Christian Aid’s work.”

Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth said the results of the poll were “not surprising”.

“People in the UK have the right to protest peacefully – and the role of the police should be helping people to do so,” said Andy Atkins, Friends of the Earth executive director.

Worryingly, a significant minority (7%) of those polled did not agree that everyone in the UK should have the right to peaceful protest.