In February, the prime minister warned that ​“mob rule is replacing democratic rule” in the UK. He encouraged police to take action on pro-Palestine protests which, he said, had descended into ​“intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence”. Over 50 organisations responded by accusing this government of placing draconian restrictions on the right to protest.

A UN expert has claimed that before the 1930s, it was almost unheard of for peaceful protesters to be imprisoned in the UK. But last year two climate protestors who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing received the longest sentences for peaceful protest in modern British history.

Are we witnessing a protest crackdown? Why are politicians referring to some protest groups as ​“extremists” and ​“militants”? And how can we defend the right to protest?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Akiko Hart, Director of Liberty, and Audrey Cherryl Mogan, Criminal Defence and Civil Liberties Barrister.

Music by Aldous Ichnite, Free Music Archive: https://​freemu​si​carchive​.org/m…, used under Creative Commons licence: https://​cre​ativecom​mons​.org/li…

Image by Dovydas Žilinskas (@asiuklis).

Do we need to fight for the right to protest? by New Economics Podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Produced by Amy Clancy, Margaret Welsh and James Rush.