Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent protests from disrupting traffic on the M25.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 is already in force. This raised the maximum penalty for wilful obstruction of the highway, ensuring offenders can receive proportionate sentences for the disruption they cause.

The Public Order Bill is now passing through Parliament and will improve the police’s ability to respond to highly disruptive tactics. For example, lock-on offence and the associated stop and search power will allow the police to pro-actively prevent the selfish minority of protesters causing serious disruption on our roads.

The Government have tabled an amendment to the Bill which will allow the police to intervene before disruption occurs, enabling them to shut down protests before they descend into chaos. The amendment also allows the police to consider the total disruption caused by multiple events occurring at the same time or in close proximity, as well as long-running campaigns designed to cause repeat disruption over a period of days or weeks.