Draft Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 Debate
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Sadik Al-Hassan
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Draft Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025
Sadik Al-Hassan Excerpts(1 day, 20 hours ago)
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Sadik Al-Hassan (North Somerset) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec—even today, on my birthday. There is obviously nowhere else I would rather be.
The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy and must be protected even as we balance legitimate security concerns. As an officer of the all-party parliamentary group for life sciences and a pharmacist, I understand that this statutory instrument is designed to prevent disruptive protest activities and protect key national infrastructure, but the classification of life sciences infrastructure such as animal testing facilities as key national infrastructure could set what some would consider a concerning precedent for protest rights.
What specific safeguards will the Minister implement to prevent overreach with this designation? Will there be any regular parliamentary review of which sciences qualify? What provisions will there be to ensure that peaceful protest remains possible at appropriate distances?