UK parliament debates new crime and justice law

Britain's home secretary, Priti Patel, has said the government is committed to tackling violence against women amid a debate in Parliament this week on changes to crime and justice law.

The opposition Labour Party has said that the legislation being proposed to change how the police can manage protests "does nothing to help women feel safer".

Politicians are debating the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill, and members of Parliament have raised concerns about giving police more powers to restrict demonstrations. The legislation also includes various changes to crime and sentencing, including tougher sentences for sex offenders.

The debate has been brought into focus following heavy-handed tactics used at a vigil on Saturday for Sarah Everard, who was allegedly murdered after being abducted off a main street in south London on March 3. Her suspected killer is a serving Metropolitan Police officer.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Patel defended the proposed legislation, saying the right to protest is "the cornerstone of our democracy", but stressing that large gatherings cannot take place while the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

As hundreds of protesters lined up on Westminster Bridge nearby to demand justice for victims of sexual violence, Patel told MPs that the Sarah Everard case had "rightly "sparked anger among women.

Labour MP Harriet Harman said: "The terrible outcome of the police ban on the Clapham Common vigil in the wake of the tragic killing of Sarah Everard shows how wrong the government is to try in this bill to curb the right to demonstrate … Women don't want us to sympathie they want action and that's what we should do."

Patel hinted that the government will consider recording misogyny as a hate crime and setting up a national register of stalkers, The Guardian reported.

Conservative MP Graham Brady asked Patel for assurances about the effect of the policing bill on the right to peacefully protest. He said the new powers for police over protests should only affect events that cause "serious disruption".

Conservative MP and former prime minister Theresa May said: "I do worry about the potential unintended consequences of some of the measures in the bill... I would urge the government to consider carefully the need to walk a fine line between being popular and populist-our freedoms depend on it."

Downing Street announced that "immediate steps" aimed at improving safety for women and girls in England and Wales would include an additional 25 million pounds ($35 million) for better lighting and street cameras, known as CCTV. It said undercover police will be sent to clubs, bars and popular nightspots "to relay intelligence about predatory or suspicious offenders".

Labour MPs said the government had "misunderstood the issue", and shadow domestic violence minister Jess Phillips told the BBC's Breakfast program that experts and victims have never called for "more CCTV". Phillips called for "meaningful changes to legislation regarding street harassment", or a "detailed review of how rape is prosecuted in England and Wales".