Peter Bedford
Main Page: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)Department Debates - View all Peter Bedford's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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Jake Richards
No, I do not agree with my hon. Friend on that point. The Home Secretary has been very clear that that judgment will be appealed in the courts. We have been absolutely clear as a Government that the right to peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy, but those rights are balanced, and it is crucial that, where peaceful protest contravenes the law, the law stands firm.
Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)
People should have the right to protest, but that needs to be coupled with responsibilities. As my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) mentioned, it is outrageous that fringe groups feel emboldened to protest in support of terrorist ideology, contrary to basic British values. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that these people are under no illusion about how they will end up being prosecuted if they openly support fundamentalist Islamist ideology, and that if they have no right to be here, they will be deported?
Jake Richards
As I have said, this is a matter for the Home Secretary. She has made it abundantly clear that, although there is a right to protest in this country—an important right that should be protected—where incidents such as those the hon. Gentleman has identified occur, those individuals should face the full force of the law.