MAIDENHEAD MP Theresa May has urged the government to rethink their controversial policing bill during a parliamentary debate, saying “our freedoms depend on it”.

Politicians gathered in person and virtually to debate the police crime, sentencing and courts bill, which would give new powers to the Home Secretary and the police to curb protests.

Home Secretary Priti Patel defended the potential bill and said it’s required following a “significant change in protest tactics” in recent years.

Speaking in Parliament, Ex-Prime Minister and former Home Secretary Theresa May, cautioned her predecessor to think twice about the bill as she raised her concerns over the impact it will have on freedom of speech.

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Mrs May said: “I absolutely accept that the police have certain challenges, for example when people glue themselves to vehicles or the gates of Parliament – but freedom of speech is an important right for our democracy.

“However annoying or uncomfortable sometimes that might be and I know there will be people who will have seen scenes of protest and will have said, ‘why isn’t the government doing something?’, to which the answer in many cases may simply be because we live in a democratic, free society.”

Theresa May speaking in Parliament

Theresa May speaking in Parliament

In the bill, the government is eyeing imposing time and noise limits on non-violent protests judged to be too noisy and could cause “serious unease, alarm, or distress” to the public.

Mrs May said some of the definitions around noise and nuisance “look too wide” and urged for re-examination.

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She said: “’It’s tempting with the Home Secretary to think that giving powers to the Home Secretary is very reasonable because we all think we’re reasonable.

“But actually future Home Secretaries may not be so reasonable, and I wonder if the government would be willing to publish a draft of those regulations during passage of the bill so we can actually see what that is going to be and make sure that it is not also encroaching on the operational decisions of the police.

“So, there are very important elements of this bill, but I would urge the government to consider carefully the need to walk a fine line between being popular and populist. Our freedoms depend on it.”