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<p>The management of public protests and access to roads and pavements around Parliament
are matters for the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster City Council, and the
Greater London Authority, who are all independent of the Government.</p><p>Through
the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Government expanded the list
of prohibited activities in the controlled area of Parliament Square to include the
obstruction of vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate. It is a criminal offence
to ignore a constable’s direction to cease such an activity.</p><p>In addition, Parliament
has approved a Statutory Instrument providing the police with greater flexibility
and clarity over when to intervene to stop disruptive protest tactics such as blocking
roads and slow walking. We have done this to support the police in striking the right
balance between the rights of the public and the rights of protesters, and to ensure
public order legislation is clear, consistent and current.</p>
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