Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect (a) farming and (b) food production sites from illegal drone flying by vegan activists.

The Home Office, working closely with policing, has built a national counter-drone capability to equip police with the capabilities they need to detect and mitigate the illegal or malicious use of drones. These capabilities comprise a range of specialist equipment, vehicles, and personnel to ensure a flexible and effective response across UK policing to any potential drone-related incident.

The public should report any suspicious drone activity by calling 101. They should explain the situation to the call handler, identifying the time and location of the drone. In an emergency, the public should call 999.

Flying a drone safely and within regulations by an appropriately registered pilot is legal in the UK. The Drone and Model Aircraft Code, which gives guidance on the circumstances in which drone flying is and is not illegal, is available from the Civil Aviation Authority’s website.