MORE than 45 civil society groups including the TUC and Palestine Solidarity Campaign today opposed “extreme” and “dangerous” government plans to give police sweeping new powers to restrict protests in England and Wales.

Greenpeace, Amnesty International UK, Liberty, Quakers in Britain and unions also denounced the “draconian crackdown on our rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”

Police will be required to consider the “cumulative impact” of repeated protests in the same area when imposing conditions on demonstrations under an amendment in the Crime and Policing Bill introduced in the House of Lords.

The size of an area is not specified and police would not be required to take into account whether the protests are for the same cause or involve the same people, the statement warned.

“Although government statements make clear these powers have been brought forward in response to the mass national marches for Palestinian rights, the impact of this change of law would be wide-ranging,” it said.

“An anti-racist march could be blocked from Whitehall because of a previous farmers’ protest, or a Pride march restricted because a far-right demonstration was recently held in the same town.

“Clamping down on peaceful protests will not protect anyone’s rights or safety, and we reject cynical attempts by government to present this repressive proposal as protection for vulnerable groups.”

It said that the Suffragette and anti-apartheid movements in South Africa all relied on the “cumulative” impact of protests in an area.

Michael Bradley, from Stand Up to Racism, said: “It’s shocking to see a Labour government cracking down on the right to protest in this way.

“We only have to look at events in the US, with Trump’s ICE agents acting completely outside the law, to see where the attacks on civil liberties can end up if we don’t resist.”

More than 100 legal experts condemned the proposed measures after they were announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood last October. She claimed that repeated large-scale demonstrations over Gaza had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community after a deadly terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal said: “Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip — two years of live-streamed atrocities — have caused public outrage at the British government’s complicity, including the export of weapons and military and political support for Israel.

“That fuels the large public protests that continue to take place through the participation of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people across the country.

“Instead of addressing its responsibilities under international law and addressing the core demands of the protesters, which are supported according to opinion polls by a majority of the British public, successive governments have instead sought to repress protest through ever more draconian laws.

“The right to protest — including in solidarity with the Palestinian people or in opposition to the policies and actions of the British government — is a precious democratic principle that is under the gravest threat and must be defended.”

Stop the War Coalition (StWC) vice-president Chris Nineham said: “The ‘cumulative impact’ clause in the Crime and Policing Bill is part of a massive assault on the Palestine movement but also on the right to protest in general — an assault that will affect anyone who wants to protest against government policy on any issue.

“They’re trying to ban certain slogans and now they’re even trying to get rid of jury trials.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Restrictions on the right to protest are a major concern for the trade union movement in this country.

“With the far right on the rise in the UK and across the globe, we must be extra vigilant in defending basic human rights and democratic norms.”

Liberty policy and campaigns officer Lyle Barker said: “The government must stop introducing new anti-protest powers until the review of current laws has taken place – and instead work to protect our basic human right to make our voices heard when those in power refuse to listen.”

The Home Office said: “These new powers will not ban protests, but they will help protect communities from repeated disruption while protecting the right to peaceful protest.”

Supporters of Palestine and protest rights are urged to attend Mr Nineham and Mr Jamal’s trial for Public Order Act charges at Westminster magistrates’ court on the morning of February 23.