Britons have given their verdict on proposed law changes that will make it illegal for protesters to climb on war memorials.
GB News spoke to people in London after Home Secretary James Cleverly made the commitment.
Pro-Palestine protesters were seen climbing on the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner in central London after a demonstration in Westminster.
One member of the public told GB News that the law should be changed as a show of appreciation for fallen heroes.
Britons have given their verdict on a proposed law change
X / GB NEWS
“I appreciate that the law should be changed”, she said.
“We wouldn’t be here today, any of us, unless it was for our forebearers that fought for us.”
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Another commented saying the law shouldn’t need to be changed, and members of the public should have the common sense to realise the action is “unacceptable”.
He said: “They shouldn’t need legislation or rules to bring that to somebody’s attention.
“We know it’s unacceptable.”
One member of the public told GB News that a law should not be in place as they defended the protests.
James Cleverly is proposing law changes
PA“If someone wants to protest, It’s very difficult thin king how they can do it legally”, they said.
“How can they express their terrible concerns about what’s happening?
“And if someone chooses to climb on a memorial, it’s not right, but I don’t think that we should have a law to prevent it.’
Downing Street lashed out at protesters who climbed on a war memorial, branding their actions “an affront to armed forces”.
It comes after Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said arrest protesters for scaling the memorial would have been illegal.
He dubbed the move by demonstrators “unfortunate” and “inflammatory in certain ways” but not against the law.
He told the Institute for Government (IfG) that police must be able to enforce the law impartially rather than “pandering to public opinion”.
Asked about the police response, Sir Mark said: “What the officer didn’t do last night was make up a law that it’s illegal to do something and do an arrest which would have been illegal, clearly.”
He defended the actions of officers on the ground, describing them as “sensible” in the circumstances, adding: “The officers intervened, as officers often are doing, to try and de-escalate risk of conflict, even when there isn’t explicit power to do it.”
