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Ministers are set to grant law enforcement new powers to address ongoing protests, with a particular focus on cracking down against Middle East demonstrations, as stated by the Home Office.

Latest Detentions and Planned Changes

This announcement comes just after nearly 500 individuals were detained in London for expressing support for a proscribed group, a banned organization. The new measures could enable police to instruct frequent protests to be relocated to different locations.

Shabana Mahmood, will also review all legislation regarding demonstrations, with the potential to strengthen authorities to ban certain demonstrations outright.

Proposed Legal Modifications

Under the planned powers, the Home Secretary will push through swift changes to the existing public order legislation, allowing law enforcement to consider the "cumulative impact" of ongoing protests. Specific details will be provided "in due course", as per the announcement.

If a protest has caused what officials called "repeated disorder" at the same site for several consecutive weeks, police would gain the authority to require organizers to move the event elsewhere, with those who do not obey facing detention.

Wider Review and Community Security

The Home Secretary stated that she would "examine existing legislation to guarantee that authorities are sufficient and being consistently applied", including police powers to prohibit certain demonstrations completely.

"The freedom to demonstrate is a basic right in our nation. Nevertheless, this freedom must be balanced with the right of other citizens to live their lives without fear," Mahmood stated.

"Frequent, sizable demonstrations can cause sections of our country, particularly religious communities, experiencing insecurity, intimidated and scared to leave their homes. This has been especially noticeable in relation to the significant anxiety within the Jewish community, which has been expressed to me on many occasions during these challenging times."

"These changes represent an significant move in guaranteeing we protect the right to protest while making certain everyone feel secure in this nation."

Recent Situation and Police Response

These expanded authorities seem aimed at both large-scale pro-Gaza protests, which occurred in London and some other cities over a series of weeks, and gatherings organized to back Palestine Action.

Recently, authorities detained approximately 500 people at the latest such protest. This gathering took place even though ministers, including political leaders, requesting that it be delayed following this week's deadly attack on a synagogue in the northern city.

Police Perspective

After Saturday's protest, the chair of the police representative body commented that police personnel managing protests in London were "drained both mentally and physically".

"Enough is enough. Our concentration should be on ensuring public safety at a period when the nation is on heightened alert from a security threat. Yet officers are being drawn in to manage these continuous demonstrations," Paula Dodds stated.

Further Legislative Measures

This development come after protest-related provisions in the public safety legislation currently under parliamentary consideration, which prohibits the possession of face coverings or fireworks at demonstrations, and makes illegal the scaling of specific memorial structures.