Twenty-six Labour MPs have rebelled against the Government’s decision to ban protests outside animal testing labs and other “life sciences infrastructure”. Former minister Kerry McCarthy and Commons Welsh Affairs Committee chairwoman Ruth Jones were among the rebels against the move, which campaigners described as « undemocratic ».
Disruptive protests that interfere with “key national infrastructure” such as roads, railways, airports, harbours and some power stations are already banned, as part of the Public Order Act 2023. However, the Home Office wanted to add “life sciences infrastructure” to this list through a regulation. The Government managed to pass an amendment bringing in the rule by 301 votes to 110 after the Tories appeared to abstain on the issue, having previously tried to introduce the same measure before the election.
It means anyone breaching the new ban may now face prison and a fine. Labour has outlawed protests such as “Camp Beagle” in Cambridgeshire, where activists have staged vigils non-stop for nearly five years outside a centre that breeds beagles for laboratory testing.
One rebel MP pointed out: “We voted against this as the Labour Party when the Tories tried to do this in government – now our leadership is doing the same as the Tories.”
It is thought the powers will allow police to “respond proportionately to disruptive protest activity that undermines our nation’s health”, according to a Home Office spokesman.
Campaigner Nathan McGovern, a spokesman for the group Animal Rising, described the Government’s plans as “fundamentally undemocratic, secretive and an insult to the British public”.
He said using a regulation to change the law “betrays a feeling in this Government that this is not a popular piece of legislation”.
The full list of Labour MPs who rebelled is:
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