Lord Walney leaves government – Greenpeace response
In response to reports that Lord Walney, previously the government’s ‘Adviser on Political Violence & Disruption’, was no longer in post, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK Areeba Hamid said:
“Lord Walney’s chief contribution as the government’s ‘anti-extremism’ adviser was to come up with a series of absurd proposals on how to criminalise peaceful protest. As our overcrowded prisons fill up with climate protesters, some facing longer terms than violent criminals, it’s clear that the last thing ministers need is more of the same advice from him. If the Labour government wants to stop the devastating consequences of their predecessor’s crackdown, and the international embarrassment it’s causing, it should repeal the Conservatives’ anti-protest laws and respond to our request for a meeting with the Home Secretary. Disruptive protest has given us work-free weekends, votes for women and the bans on whaling and fracking – the government must restore this fundamental right to the British people.”