Mass Loan Demonstation 1 - hand-in

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"Comedian and activist Mark Thomas organised the "mass lone demonstration" in Parliament Square in protest against the law, which requires campaigners to apply to the police for a licence in advance.

Three people have been convicted and several more arrested since it came into force in August last year.....The Home Officer pointed out that the commissioner of the Metropolitan police cannot ban demonstrations around parliament, only place conditions on them.

But Doug Jewell, campaigns coordinator for the human rights body group Liberty, warned that the measure was indicative of a wider tendency for politicians to separate themselves from the public."

Tania Branigan
Guardian political correspondent