Police to get power to break up slow-walking climate protests, Braverman says

United Nations human rights chief calls for ‘wholly unnecessary’ new protest powers to be withdrawn

Police will be given the power to break up “slow walking” protests under new legislation, Suella Braverman has announced after a controversial law over the tactic was blocked by the House of Lords.

Peers stripped out a clause of the Public Order Bill that aimed to tackle tactics used by environmental groups in February, but the home secretary is now introducing a statutory instrument that will come into effect without being voted on in parliament.

The move was announced after Just Stop Oil launched a series of slow marches in central London on Thursday, with the Metropolitan Police saying officers responded to several demonstrations over three hours.