Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the Crime and Policing Bill proposal regarding a prohibition on face coverings when in an area designated by police is compatible with the right to freedom of expression.

The government is committed to protecting public safety and preventing disorder and crime whilst balancing the right to peaceful protest.

Under the provisions in clauses 118 to 120 of the Crime and Policing Bill, the police can only designate a locality for the purposes of the offence of concealing identity at protests where a senior officer reasonably believes that a protest is or may take place in the locality, that the protest is likely to involve or has involved the commission of offences, and it is expedient in order to prevent or limit offences being committed to designate the locality.

The measure includes a defence for individuals charged with this new offence if they prove they wore or used the item for a purpose related to health, religious observance or relating to the person’s work.

As such, a locality will only be designated where criminality has or is likely to take place, and under this new measure, the police will be expected to take action only against persons who are wearing or using items to conceal their identity at protests in a designated locality, without a legitimate purpose. Given these safeguards, the government is satisfied that this measure does not disproportionately interfere with individuals’ human rights.