Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the cost of policing Extinction Rebellion protests in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, and (3) 2021; and whether any of those costs have been met by the organisers of the protests.

The highly disruptive tactics used by some protesters cause a disproportionate impact on the surrounding communities and are a drain on public funds. The management of protests, including the tactics they use; their cost; and their resourcing, is an operational matter for the police. The PCSC Bill aims to allow the police to take a more proactive approach in managing highly disruptive protests and will increase the police’s ability to prevent protests causing serious disruption to the public,

During Extinction Rebellion’s protests of April and October 2019, the Metropolitan Police Service reported that policing operations for the two extended protests cost around £37m - more than twice the annual budget of London's violent crime taskforce.

The right to peaceful protest remains a fundamental tool of civic expression and will not be curtailed by this Government. Protesters are not charged for the costs of policing protests.