Do police need extra powers to tackle terrorism in the UK? Join The Independent Debate
Downing Street has said it has no plans to grant police more powers, despite the Metropolitan Police chief calling on the government to consider tougher legislation
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Would you feel safer in the UK if police had more powers to tackle terrorism?
This week Downing Street has said it has no plans to do this, despite the Metropolitan Police chief calling on the government to consider tougher legislation.
Sir Mark Rowley met the home secretary Suella Braverman to discuss her demand for officers to use of the “full force of the law” after video emerged of a pro-Palestinian activist chanting “jihad”.
Speaking to journalists after a “constructive” meeting with Ms Braverman, Sir Mark suggested that laws around extremism should be redrawn. He said: “The law that we’ve designed around hate crime and terrorism over recent decades hasn’t taken full account of the ability in extremist groups to steer around those laws and propagating the truly toxic messages through social media.”
No 10 signalled on Monday that police are unlikely to be given more powers to address chants and other forms of protests deemed to be pro-extremist - but is this the right call?
We want to know whether you would welcome more powers to allow police officers to tackle terrorism. Or are the options already in place sufficient enough to allow demonstrations to go ahead without impinging on our fundamental right to free speech?
If you want to share your opinion then add it in the comments and we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.
All you have to do is sign up and register your details - then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.
Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.
Join the conversation with other Independent readers below or by clicking here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments