Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated plans to station plain-clothed police officers in nightclubs ad bars as well as spending £45million on improving street lighting and CCTV coverage as a means of protecting women after a third night of protests in the capital following the death of Sarah Everard.
On Monday demonstrators marched through the streets of London. Crowds gathered in Parliament Square as well as outside New Scotland Yard and did briefly block traffic on Westminster Bridge. The Pm Boris Johnson said last night The PM said last night: ‘The horrific case of Sarah Everard has unleashed a wave of feeling about women not feeling safe at night. Ultimately, we must drive out violence against women and girls and make every part of the criminal justice system work to better protect and defend them’.
Today a vote will take place on the ‘Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill’. This bill, if passed, would allow for officers to intervene in events and protests that are deemed to be causing ‘serious unease, alarm or distress’. The bill will also raise the maximum sentence for vandalising statues up to 10 years.
Last night many demonstrators came out to protest this bill. Many chanted ‘shame on you’ and ‘kill the bill’ (a reference to the bill being voted on today). The Labour MP Zarah Sultana was among those who spoke at the protest. She said via Twitter: ‘I was always going to vote against the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill. Amongst much else, it attacks the right to protest. But because women held a defiant vigil at Clapham Common yesterday, Labour will now vote against it too. Don’t underestimate the power of protest’.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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