A PROTEST about the right to protest was held in Winchester.

A socially-distanced demonstration took place as Parliament debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, also known as the Protest Bill.

The bill, which was unveiled on Tuesday, gives more power to the police to crack down on protests they consider to be causing ‘serious annoyance’ or ‘relevant impact’, such as have been held by Extinction Rebellion in London.

It is claimed by many to be an assault on democratic rights and freedom. The legislation will make protests illegal that are too noisy.

A new group has been formed called Winchester4Protest to build an alliance across the city to fight the bill.

This week socially distanced protestors carried placards bearing slogans such as ‘Freedom to protest’ and ‘10 years just for doing this’ in reference to new sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

One of the protesters, Lucy Taylor, of Wharf Hill, said: "This is an assault on our liberty and fundamentally undermines our democracy. There is so much to protest right now. With dictatorships on the rise around the world, this feels like a very frightening step in the wrong direction."

A retired veteran told protestors how he had fought in Malaya, Northern Ireland and the Falklands and said "this is not the society I fought for".

Judith Martin, of Romsey Road, said "What was remarkable about this small, socially-distanced protest was how citizens going about their ordinary law-abiding business in the High Street welcomed the opportunity to be involved.

"Last year, not long after lockdown began, our MP tweeted about the importance of freedom of speech. Now it seems he’s happy to use the cover of Covid safety to compromise it."

The bill was passed on Tuesday evening, with Winchester MP Steve Brine voting in favour. It now moves to committee stage where it will be scrutinised and there is the possibility for amends to be made.