Protesters able to hide faces because of mask ban loophole
Police will be given the power to arrest individuals who refuse to remove face coverings at protests under plans laid out in the Crime and Policing Bill.
It has emerged protesters will be able to maintain their face coverings for 'medical reasons', raising concerns that marchers could evade the ban with spurious claims.
In a disability impact assessment of the new bill, officials said the wording of the offence had been 'designed to include an explicit defence where a person is wearing an item for health reasons'.
The government moved to tighten rules on face coverings at protests over concerns they were used to intimidate members of the public and career out illegal activity.
The government's former anti-extremism tsar has warned the exemption is too 'broad' and will be exploited by aggressive protestors to 'get them off the hook'.
Lord Walney, who last month was sacked as the government's independent adviser on political violence and disruption, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'I'm really concerned to see this and I'm sure that it's something MPs and peers, when it comes through the Lords, will want to scrutinise very closely.'
'The strong suspicion is that protesters spread to their activists the magic words that will get them off the hook with the police. Look at the manuals they hand out to their protesters. They are very organised people and when there are caveats this broad it will quickly become the norm for them to take advantage of that.'
Loophole could be 'exploited'
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said the loophole would 'inevitably be exploited by bad actors'.
He called on the government to tighten the exemption to a list of 'specific and diagnosed medical conditions' to prevent it being used as a loophole.
Mr Philp told the Sunday Telegraph: 'There are justifiable concerns that this could be a loophole to help aggressive protesters wearing masks circumvent the new clause in the bill that bans face coverings. It will be essential to make sure this exemption only applies to those with a specific and diagnosed medical condition, otherwise it will inevitably be exploited by bad actors.'
'Wearing a mask at a protest can often be intimidating to others or used by those planning aggressive or even illegal behaviour. The police need to be able to see people's faces to identify anyone who commits a criminal offence and to identify people who may be wanted.'
In his landmark report on political violence and disruption delivered last year, Lord Walney recommended a blanket ban on face coverings at protests as well as the use of pyrotechnics.
The report, titled Protecting Our Democracy From Coercion, recommended a crackdown on violent and intimidating forms of protest.
Last month he was sacked when Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, abolished his independent advisory role.
He believes the new Crime and Policing Bill does not give the police and Home Secretary sufficient powers to crack down on repeated mass demonstrations such as the Gaza protests that have been taking place in central London since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.
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