RIGHT TO PROTEST SHOULD BE A BASIC LIBERTY

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 25th Jan 2007

"In a democracy, citizens should not have to apply for police permission to peacefully protest outside Parliament. The fact that my colleagues and I have to gain permission to protest outside our own House is ridiculous."

On Friday, Liberal Democrat Peers will protest outside the House of Lords against the restrictions placed on demonstrations within a kilometre of Parliament.

Following the protest, the Peers will enter the House of Lords to debate Baroness Miller's Public Demonstrations (Repeals) Bill, which will remove the clauses of the 2005 Serious Organised Crime and Police Act which limit demonstrations.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Sam Potts said:

"In a democracy, citizens should not have to apply for police permission to peacefully protest outside Parliament. The fact that my colleagues and I have to gain permission to protest outside our own House is ridiculous.

"These laws were designed purely to stop Brian Haw protesting, and then issues about terrorism were raised to justify them.

"What these laws have actually done is waste immense amounts of police time on paperwork and on arresting people who have done nothing more than hold a placard outside Parliament.

"Surprisingly, when I requested a copy of the form to make our protest legal, I was informed that it was only available to download from Mark Thomas' web site.

ENDS