The Chapman family from Shillingstone staged a peaceful ‘Kill the Bill’ protest in the square at Blandford Forum on April 3 to co-ordinate with national protests.

All six members of the Chapmans held placards to protest against certain parts of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021, which is making its way through Parliament. The bill has come under fire by many MPs for its potential to contravene the European Convention on Human Rights to the freedom of assembly and association and thus stifle democracy.

Tatiana Chapman said: “Why do women have the vote in 2021? Why do people of all races have equal rights in UK law? The answer to both of these questions, and the reason for many other rights which we now take for granted, is through protest.”

“While the bill contains many important and useful improvements to the law, such as the introduction of a ‘stalkers register’, it also has several proposals which we believe would unacceptably limit our right to peacefully protest – a crucial part of any functioning democracy.

“In short, the bill would allow the police to impose additional conditions on static protests that might ‘cause serious annoyance’ and introduce an offence of ‘intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance’. These offences would carry a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment – longer than is usually given for cases of rape. We believe if this becomes law, it will fundamentally limit our essential right to freedom of expression and to peacefully challenge the government. As we have seen repeatedly throughout history, protest has been vital in bringing about improvements to human rights.”

“Examples of violence and disorder, as we saw in Bristol, should not take away from the credible problems with the bill. It is important to note the police already have the powers to deal with any violent disorder or vandalism under existing legislation.”

“The bill is being quickly pushed through parliament at a time when the public and media is focused on covid-19 and during a time, ironically, when the right to protest is severely restricted. For better or for worse, over the last year we have lost many of our freedoms. While this has of course been an extraordinary time with extraordinary measures, as we come out of the pandemic, curbs on basic freedoms must not become the ‘new normal’.”

Tatiana added: “We would like to thank the very kind man who came and brought us coffee. Thank you.”

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