To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition, packed with exclusive investigations, news, and analysis. Netpol, which has supported the rights of frontline protest groups since 2009, has called for urgent action to reverse this trend, which was amplified vigorously by the previous Conservative Government but “continues unabated” under Labour. Universities, too, are increasingly sharing information about student protesters with police, campaigners allege, particularly regarding campus protests against Israel’s war on Gaza. Regular attacks by politicians, their advisors and the press on the legitimacy of protest demands have come alongside attempts to demonise particular protest groups, NetPol argues, and branding groups like Palestine Action as criminal networks. The period covers the ongoing demonstrations against the Government’s policy towards Israel, the jailing of climate campaigners, “culture wars” against protest groups in advance of the general election, and the race riots last summer.

Source: The Times March 19, 2025 17:55 UTC