The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and Public Order Act 2023 were trained largely on the direct action wing of the climate movement, although they made room for other targets, notably the rights of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. Policy Exchange, the think tank co-founded by Michael Gove and funded by Exxon-Mobil, inspired much of the detail in the legislative assault on protest with its report ‘Extremism Rebellion’, which described Extinction Rebellion as a ‘subversive’ group planning to precipitate ‘the breakdown of democracy and the state’.
The Public Order Act is ostensibly aimed at preventing ‘disruption to the life of the community’, but its provisions largely focus on disruption to afghanistan phone data corporate interests. It introduces a new offence of interfering with key national infrastructure, including roads, rail, air transport, harbours, oil and gas exploration, production and refining, electricity generation and newspaper printing. In effect, it gave the police increased powers to stop protesters targeting oil and gas companies or trying to prevent the detention and deportation of migrants.
with a Kill the Bill movement speaking to the thousands mobilised by Black Lives Matter in 2020, but ultimately losing momentum as pandemic lockdowns receded and the policing bill was forced through Parliament. Much of that organisation and energy has since been channelled into the pro-Palestine movement.