New Public Order Bill Amendments - Creating Problems For The Future?

[whole diary]

[Bob_Blakey]

Information from Hansard and https://bills.parliament.uk.

As usual this information is presented in the extremely vague manner beloved of our parliamentarians but which potentially allows for a ludicrous width of interpretation by any appropriate authority, particularly the Judiciary.

The Railways Act 1993 defines what is meant by 'Rail Infrastructure' and this transfers directly into the proposed Public Order Bill (POB) as Part 1, Clause 8. I read this as meaning any interference with the railways would be a criminal offence.

With Amendment 42 to the POB Joanna Cherry (SNP, Edinburgh SW) is seeking to limit the definition of Rail Infrastructure to that which '...excludes infrastructure that is not essential for the purposes of transporting goods or passengers by railway', and this on the basis of an individuals human rights.

Ms Cherry has not yet explained what she is trying to achieve here but, to put it mildly, I am not a fan of action which in any way disrupts the day-to-day activities of public society.

BTW^▸ ('by the way') Amendment 43 from the same individual seeks to apply the same 'rule' to air transport.

Nothing to see here or should we be worried?   

[grahame]

Nothing to see here or should we be worried?   

Don't know, Bob - I suspect it's important to read it in the context of the Public Order Bill as a whole, which is very likely to have some pretty concerning stuff in it with relation to freedoms to do things like protest in a way awkward to the authorities - that's the history of this sort of measure and an argument I am going to side-step.

Amending the definition of Rail Infrastructure to that which is strictly necessary for the carriage of goods and passengers perhaps moves places like the shops around The Lawn at Paddington, and the Mad Bishop and Bear out of the "Rail Infrastructure" area, and that might make sense. Might it also move the ticket office out of "Rail Infrastructure" as it's not strictly necessary - you can after all buy your tickets online or from the machines on The Lawn.