Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking (a) to protect the right to peaceful protest and (b) to prevent politically motivated prosecutions against peaceful protesters.

Peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy. It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law. This Government is committed to protecting and preserving that right.

The decision to prosecute an individual is a decision for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who are operationally independent of Government.