UK Crime and Policing Bill sparks free speech concerns

• The U.K.’s proposed Crime and Policing Bill addresses serious crimes like child abuse and youth violence but has sparked controversy over a new provision called the “Respect Order.” Critics, including legal scholar Andrew Tettenborn, argue it threatens free speech by allowing courts to penalize behavior deemed merely “distressing.”
• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defends the bill, saying it targets street and violent crime.
• The bill is currently in committee, with the next debate set for April 24.

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A new piece of legislation called the Crime and Policing Bill is making its way through the House of Commons in the United Kingdom’s Parliament. The bill tackles a number of issues, including child sex abuse, youth crime and even stalking.

Critics raise alarm over potential free speech implications

However, critics of the legislation warn that it would give U.K. courts the ability to issue a Respect Order.

The bill states that authorities may issue a Respect Order to prevent someone from engaging in anti-social behavior, prohibit the person from doing anything described in the order, or require the person to do anything described in the order.

In the U.K., authorities define anti-social behavior as “behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm, or distress to persons not of the same household as the person.”

The measure has resurrected concerns about free speech in the United Kingdom. If someone says something that may cause “distress” to another, authorities would consider that person anti-social.

The court could issue a Respect Order over something as small as a comment.

Legal expert calls bill ‘draconian’

Andrew Tettenborn, a professor of commercial law and a former Cambridge admissions officer, recently wrote a news article for Spiked.

In it, he called the Crime and Policing Bill “draconian,” explaining that the court could grant a Respect Order if an elected official doesn’t like certain criticism online — maybe a post he or she finds to be harassment or causes distress.

“This spectacularly authoritarian measure is supposedly aimed at street hoodlums, but it is not restricted in any meaningful way. It is a racing certainty that the courts will not apply any limits to its scope,” Tettenborn writes.

Home secretary defends bill on morning show

The bill’s sponsor, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, appeared on “Good Morning Britain” in February. Anchor Susanna Reid asked her about a woman who received a police visit after making comments in a private Facebook group.

“People in Greater Manchester say why were those police knocking on her door and not out, you know, tackling the crimes like the ones we’ve just been talking about? What did you make of that?” Hawkins asked Cooper.

“So I can certainly tell you a case like that is not covered by any of the 50 measures we are putting forward in the legislation,” Cooper responded. “Our legislation is about particularly focusing around town center crime, neighborhood crimes like the street theft and also around the most serious violence of all.”

Next steps for the bill

The bill is currently in committee debate. The next debate is scheduled for April 24.