The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 16th November 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) freedom of religion or belief, (2) freedom of assembly, and (3) freedom of expression, in Pakistan.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about freedom of expression in Pakistan”On 1st November 2022, the House of Lords debated the Public Order Bill in its second reading. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate, highlighting concerns that the bill would grant excessive powers to the police:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I think many of us in this debate will have a feeling of déjà vu. No matter how many pieces of legislation come through here granting the police additional powers, it seems that they are never enough. It seems we are always one more public order provision away from solving the problem.
Along with other noble Lords, I want to support the police and the rule of law. We are grateful for all the police do; they stand in our place and, very often, have to take very difficult decisions. But we already have the Public Order Act 1986, which grants the police powers to place restrictions on protests and to prohibit those which threaten to cause serious disruption to public order. We already have the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which introduced the offence of aggravated trespass. We have the offence of obstruction of a highway and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which allows for civil injunctions to prevent protesters demonstrating in a way which causes harm or harassment. As recently as last year, remarkably extensive powers, including on noisy and disruptive protests, were granted in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Continue reading “Public Order Bill: Bishop of St Albans highlights concerns of excessive police powers”
The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 6th June 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Reporters Without Borders that there have been more than 140 instances of violence by Israeli security forces against journalists in Friday protests since March 2018.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about violence against journalists in Israel”On 31st March 2022, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. There were votes on several amendments, in which Bishops took part.
On 22nd March 2022, the House of Lords considered Commons amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part.
On 17th January 2022, during a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill, the Bishop of Leeds spoke in support of amendments to relating to the definition of “significant” disruption caused by protests:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I have a number of problems with this part of the Bill that are to do with form and content. The fact that these amendments were brought in at the stage they were seems an abuse of parliamentary scrutiny. Some of the debates we are having could have been sorted out had they been addressed in the normal way. That fits into a pattern of intimations about breaking the rule of law and the authoritarian complexion of the way in which some things are being done in, through or around Parliament. That is my problem with form.
Continue reading “Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Leeds questions definition of “significant” disruption”On 17th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill in its report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
The Church of England in Parliament 
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