Free speech campaigners are claiming success in their battle against what they call ‘busybody charters’, as councils are starting to withdraw Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) following legal challenges. The Telegraph has the story.
Local authorities across the country have used Public Spaces Protection Orders to impose increasing numbers of fines of up to £1,000 for a range of activities, including loitering, swearing or even walking a dog in the wrong place.
One council is even proposing to bring in a new PSPO-linked code which could see “discourteous” street performers banned from the borough.
Breaching the terms of a PSPO is a criminal offence and can result in a fixed penalty notice. Failure to pay the fine within 28 days could lead to being hauled in front of a court to face either a prison sentence or a larger fine.
The Free Speech Union (FSU) has analysed the PSPOs of 15 local authorities around the country, and says it has found numerous examples of overreach. In some cases, they have written to councils to threaten judicial review.
Bryn Harris, the FSU’s Chief Legal Counsel, said the use of PSPOs – known to their critics as “busybody charters” – has become “out of control”. …
PSPOs were set up under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act in 2014. They were aimed at helping councils crack down on issues like prostitution or drinking alcohol in specific areas.
But some of the PSPOs analysed by the FSU have been extended to cover an entire borough. In London, both Haringey and Waltham Forest councils outlaw behaviour likely to cause “harassment, alarm or distress” across their entire boroughs.
“Why is that a problem?” Mr. Harris asked. “Let’s say you want to protest on the streets and talk about someone dying and unbeknownst to you, this causes someone distress.
“That makes you liable, even if you didn’t intend it and couldn’t have foreseen [it]. That is why safeguards are absolutely necessary to preserve freedom of expression.”
Worth reading in full.
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