Rarely does such a perfect storm of events so clearly expose the dark realities of state power and the real intentions of a government. Boris Johnson is, of course, a civil libertarian whose anti-authoritarian instincts were so strong that he could not bear to introduce proper lockdown measures at crucial moments in the pandemic; and the police are, of course, there to keep us safe. Over the past week, reality has burned through both of these lies in a connected way, bringing into being a moment of genuine difficulty for the defenders of law, order and ever-increasing police powers.
The passing of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill at second reading last week – its first step on the road to becoming law – took place against the backdrop of four consecutive days of protest triggered by the handling of a vigil to commemorate Sarah Everard.
As night fell on Clapham Common last Saturday, hundreds of police broke up the vigil citing COVID restrictions, arresting mourners clutching flowers. Public anger at the incident quickly latched onto the new policing bill, which seeks to dramatically curtail the right to protest and under which it will be possible to receive a higher sentence for defacing a statue than for raping a woman. This weekend, protests took place across the country, and in Bristol protesters fought back physically, attacking a police station and torching police vans. The long, hot summer of post-lockdown protest has already begun.
