THE right to protest came under fresh attack today as the Tory government unveiled new measures directed at demonstrators.

Rattled by the repeated huge solidarity marches with Palestine in recent months, ministers presented amendments to criminal justice legislation designed to make protesting harder.

Among the acts now to be criminalised are wearing masks at a demonstration, climbing on war memorials or the use of flares or fireworks.

Protesters engaging in any of these activities now risk fines of up to £1,000.

Nor will they any longer be able to use the right to protest as a defence if they cause serious disruption, a change driven by the refusal of a jury to convict anti-racists charged with hauling down the statute of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

They had successfully claimed they were exercising their rights to freedom of conscience, expression and thought.

Home Secretary James Cleverley said that the latest measures were aimed at “a small minority dedicated to causing damage and intimidating the law-abiding majority.”

“The right to protest is paramount in our county, but taking flares to marches to cause damage and disruption is not protest, it is dangerous,” he said.

“That is why we are giving police the powers to prevent any of this criminality on our streets.”

But campaigners denounced the moves, which come after a range of legislation giving police powers to curb peaceful protest.

Lindsey German, convener of the Stop the War Coalition, one of the principal organisers of the Palestine demonstrations, said: “Of all the problems this country has, climbing war memorials isn’t one of them.

“Even the Met [Police] admits our demos are well organised and peaceful. Arrest numbers are lower than at Glastonbury.”

Ministers are “deliberately trying to raise tensions and create the impression that people marching for peace are a threat to society,” Ms German said.

“And it’s an appalling insult to people who cover their faces for religious or health reasons,” she added.

Leading human rights lawyer and peer Shami Chakrabarti said:  “Should rape victims or refugees peacefully protesting really be punished for covering their faces to protect their identities?

“This is more culture war nonsense from the government while children go hungry and the planet burns.”

And Akiko Hart, director of the civil rights campaign group Liberty, said: “Bringing in these powers put people at greater risk of being criminalised for exercising their right to protest – including disabled people who in some situations have only felt comfortable protesting in public when wearing face coverings.

“It is extremely concerning that the government is trying to impose even more conditions on not only when people can protest, but how they protest too.”

There are also concerns that the provisions on masks could inhibit Britain-based exiles from demonstrating outside the embassies of repressive regimes.

A Labour spokesperson backed the government plans, saying: “We welcome a ban on flares and fireworks, which have been used to create disorder and intimidate police officers in recent months.

“We will scrutinise the details of these proposals to ensure that new measures are applied appropriately and proportionately.”

But Mr Cleverley’s plans do not go far enough for some on the hard right of the Tory Party. 

His predecessor at the Home Office, Suella Braverman, who lost office trying to ban a Gaza ceasefire protest on Armistice Day, has demanded further measures.

These would include giving ministers, rather than the police, the power to ban marches they do not approve of; prohibit the use of particular slogans or phrases and proscribe groups deemed “extremist” even if they are entirely peaceful.