Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made any specialist training available to police forces on (a) defusing tensions between motorists and protestors undertaking non-violent direct action involving the obstruction of public highways and (b) preventing the use of vehicles as weapons against such protestors.

It is regrettable that frustrated members of the public have been seen physically confronting protesters. While the government understands the frustration caused by protesters who use highly disruptive tactics to stop hard-working people going about their lives, there is no justification for acts of violence.

The police have comprehensive powers to deal with any individual who exhibits violent or threatening behaviour. The College of Policing is the organisation which sets standards and publishes police guidance and is operationally independent. The College has recently worked with the National Police Chiefs' Council to publish National Protest Operational Advice (Public order public safety | College of Policing), which provides operational guidance on dealing with protests, including ensuring the safety of all those present.

In addition, the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on Public Order Public Safety (Public order public safety | College of Policing) was updated on 8 June 2023 and provides guidance on the policing of major events. The document signposts to the National Protest Operational Advice document.

The Government has recently introduced new legislation in the form of the Public Order Act 2023 and amended existing provisions in the Public Order Act 1986 to ensure that the police have the powers they need to deal with highly disruptive protests. By giving the police these new powers, we will reduce the likelihood of frustrated members of the public engaging in violent or threatening behaviour in response to disruptive protests. In some cases, the use of these new powers has enabled police to clear the streets of protesters in as little as three minutes.

The Home Office does not hold any data on the number of assaults recorded by motorists against protesters. A review into the recording of NCHI, reporting to the Policing Minister, is underway.