DoomsdaysCWUK watchdog says #CounterterrorismLaw could hit #protests, #FreeSpeech
By Sam Tabahriti, April 29, 2026
LONDON, (Reuters) - "Britain's terrorism watchdog on Wednesday said the government risked stretching counterterrorism laws beyond their original purpose by using such powers against #ActivistGroups, blurring the line between protests and national security threats.
"In his annual report examining the use of Britain's terrorism legislation during 2024, independent reviewer Jonathan Hall said the subsequent banning of pro-Palestine group Palestine Action had exposed "real uncertainty" over whether serious damage to property alone should qualify as terrorism.
"The law's broad wording could without clearer limits risk pulling protest activity into terrorism policing, even where there is no intent to harm people, Hall said.
" 'There is no legal authority on what 'serious damage to property' means,' Hall wrote, saying the definition could extend beyond violent attacks to acts such as criminal damage, depending on how courts interpret the threshold."
#PalestineAction #UKPol #SilencingFreeSpeech #CriminalizingDissent #VagueLaws #AntiProtestLaws
Lydia Conwell
The Max Planck Foundation