I have been appalled to see the disruption caused by groups such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion. Hard-working people across the UK are seeing their lives brought to a standstill by these selfish, fanatical, and dangerous so-called activists.

This type of repeated protest activity is unacceptable. I am encouraged that the Government has legislated, through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act, to enhance the police’s ability to manage protests, allow essential services to continue unabated and ensure that the day-to-day lives of the overwhelming majority are not disrupted by a selfish minority.

The measures in the Act allow the police to take a more proactive approach in managing highly disruptive protests causing misery to the public. Amongst other areas, the Act widens the range of conditions that the police can impose on static protests to match existing police powers to impose conditions on marches, broadens the range of circumstances in which police may impose conditions on a protest, and restates the common law offence of public nuisance in statute.

To echo the words of the Minister for Crime and Policing, the protests seen on the M25 are illegal actions causing severe inconvenience for law abiding citizens. I completely agree that in a democratic society, change should come through the ballot box not illegal obstruction. 

You might be interested to know that the PCSC Act also increased the maximum penalty for the offence of wilful obstruction of a highway from a fine of £1,000 to an unlimited fine and/or six months' imprisonment. I would certainly hope law enforcement make use of these powers when tackling the highly disruptive protest activity we have seen in recent weeks.

The Government has introduced the Public Order Act. This legislation introduces a range of measures to better protect the integrity of transport networks and fuel supply in England and Wales, making it a criminal offence to interfere with key national infrastructure.