The British government should not go ahead with plans to amend the law against glorifying terrorism following pro-Palestine marches in which thousands had participated, a government adviser has warned.
Jonathan Hall KC, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said new terrorism laws would do “no favours” to police and instead cause “excessive damage” to the right to free speech.
Mr Hall submitted a 15-page report to the Home Office in the backdrop of likely plans by No 10 to tighten the law against glorifying terrorism.
The report also said modifying the law in response to a particular set of protests could pose problems when any such amended law is applied to different protests.
The report that offers advice to new home secretary James Cleverly comes after large scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations during Armistice Day that saw the participation of thousands of people.
The report advised making alterations to terrorism legislation would be an inappropriate course of action, emphasising the necessity for precision in the law.
“My overall conclusion is that there is no need to legislate for any amendments to terrorism legislation now, and good reason for caution,” said Mr Hall.
“It is difficult to identify any real situations where a gap in terrorism legislation means that terrorist mischief cannot currently be addressed by arrest and prosecution.
“Given the number of pro-Palestine marchers, there have been plenty of opportunities for gaps to become apparent. There may well be other mischiefs (such as antisemitism), but those are not a subject for terrorism legislation.
“There is a general risk of legislating in response to one set of protests because of the risk of unintended consequences when new legislation comes to be applied to other protests.”
More than 80 people have been charged in the UK over alleged hate crimes and violence linked to pro-Palestinian protests that erupted after Israel’s retaliatory action in Gaza against Hamas that have now led to the killing of more than 13,000 people, including thousands of children.
In response to the protests, ministers said they were mulling amending the law against glorifying terrorism, already a criminal offence in the UK. But there needs to be a reasonable inference that such glorification encourages others to engage in similar conduct, as per the law.
Concerns have been raised over the chanting of slogans like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, perceived by some to be antisemitic.
Mr Hall said expanding the scope of offences should be immediately ruled out as it will only burden already-stretched security services.
He warned that either the “investigative authorities dramatically shift their resources or ignore new terrorist offences”.
“If individuals are convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment, this has major resource implications for their management in prison and on release,” he said.
Mr Hall explained that being a member of a proscribed organisation, wearing associated articles, intentionally soliciting support for it or recklessly encouraging backing for such an organisation is already considered an offense.
He emphasised that these laws are carefully crafted to specifically address individuals who present a genuine threat to public safety.
“Especially on political matters or questions of public interest, members of the public should not be daunted from exercising their freedom of expression and right of lawful assembly based on laws which are vague or which they cannot be expected to understand,” he said.
The law, prohibiting the glorification of terrorism, was enacted after the killing of 52 people in London in a suicide bombing attack in 2005.
