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MPs have approved new powers for police to crack down on slow-walking protests amid warnings the government is veering toward “fascism”.

The House of Commons voted in favour of measures to lower the threshold for what is considered “serious disruption” by 277 to 217, a majority of 60.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the changes “provide the police with the powers to impose conditions on harmful protests” and “provide further clarity” on when they can act to shut down demonstrations.

But Labour MP Richard Burgon branded the move an “authoritarian clampdown” while SNP cabinet member Alison Thewliss said the government is “slow walking” the Commons towards “fascism”.

The action comes against the backdrop of protests by environmental groups like Just Stop Oil (JSO), Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion.

The government says their tactics, such as blocking roads, slow marching and gluing themselves to objects, are costing the taxpayer millions and diverting police attention from serious crime.

Ms Braverman told MPs: “Over the last six weeks alone, Just Stop Oil (JSO) carried out 156 slow marches around London.

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“This has required over 13,770 police officer shifts, that’s over 13,000 police shifts that could have been stopping robbery, violent crime or anti-social behaviour, and the cost to the taxpayer is an outrage – £4.5 million in just six weeks on top of the £14 million spent last year.”

She added that “In some cases, the protests have aggravated the public so much that they’ve taken matters into their own hands”.

“They’ve lost their patience, the police must be able to stop this happening and it’s our job in government to give them the powers to do so.”

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Just Stop Oil activists block road in London

Police already have the power to clamp down on protests that are likely to cause “serious disruption to the life of the community”.

The controversial Public Order Act, passed just before the King’s coronation in May, introduced new offences for “locking on” or being equipped to do so, as well as for tunnelling and obstructing transport works.

The changes the government want to introduce would lower the threshold of what counts as serious disruption from “significant” and “prolonged” to “more than minor”.

The new regulations would also cover the cumulative impact of repeated protests while the definition of “community” would be broadened to any citizens who might be affected, rather than only those who live or work in the vicinity.

The proposals came in for heavy criticism from the main opposition parties.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said there are already laws to deal with slow walk road protests.

She said: “This is not about the seriously disruptive Just Stop Oil protests which are rightly already against the law.

“Instead, what it is doing is giving the police the power to prevent any and every campaign group protesting outside a local library or swimming pool that is about to be closed because it may be a little more than minor.

“This makes it harder for law-abiding, peaceful campaigners who want to work with the police to organise a limited protest – something we should all want people to do.”

For the SNP, Alison Thewliss said: “It seems to me that the only slow walking that we should be concerned about in this place is the slow walking that this Government is taking this House in towards a state of lack of democracy and of fascism.”

And Green Party MP Caroline Lucas described the regulations as “oppressive, anti-democratic and downright wrong”.

But DUP MP Sammy Wilson said it was “exaggerated” to describe the changes as fascism.

He said: “This is not fascism. This is about the Government having to make a decision as to what do we do to allow in a democracy people to make their point – maybe you don’t like the point they’re making – and on the other hand stop those who are impacted by it being impacted, where the protesters have made it quite clear that’s what their main aim is anyway.”

The House of Lords will vote on the changes on Tuesday.

Peers previously voted down the measures after the government attempted to add them to the Public Order Bill in February.

They have been brought back to parliament as regulations – something by convention the House of Lords does not usually vote against.

The move has been criticised by the upper chamber.

Labour peer Lord Coaker said the government has not addressed concerns raised about the proposals, while the Green Party’s Barones Jones has put down a “fatal motion” to block the changes.

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Brother of Virginia Giuffre praises King over Andrew decision – and urges him to pressure Trump over Epstein files

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Brother of Virginia Giuffre praises King over Andrew decision - and urges him to pressure Trump over Epstein files

The brother of Virginia Giuffre has praised the King’s decision to strip his brother Andrew of his titles – and has called on him to pressure Donald Trump into releasing the Epstein files.

Speaking to Gareth Barlow on Sky News, Sky Roberts said the King had “set a precedent to the rest of the world” that he was standing with survivors of abuse.

“But it’s not enough. He’s [Andrew] is still walking around a free man. He’s not going to be living on the side of the road. He should be investigated,” he said.

Mr Roberts also accused the US government of “safeguarding documents of people that are implicated” with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

“We need to fully investigate them. He should tell President Trump ‘put your big boy pants on’, and let’s get these Epstein files released so that we can go after these monsters properly.”

Ms Giuffre, who took her own life earlier this year, claimed that – as a teenager – she had sex with Andrew on three occasions after being trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell.

Andrew has always denied Ms Giuffre’s allegations. Ms Giuffre sued in 2021, and the case was settled outside court for a sum believed to have been around £12m.

Andrew latest: Follow updates after royal stripped of his titles

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‘Huge’ part of royal statement you might have missed

In a previous statement, issued on Thursday after the announcement that Andrew will be stripped of his royal titles, the family said Ms Giuffre “never stopped fighting for accountability for what had happened to her and to countless other survivors like her”.

“An ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage,” the family said, adding, “she declares victory”.

The family vowed to continue fighting until “all of the abusers and abettors connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell” are brought to justice.

The disgraced royal will now be treated as a commoner and go by the name Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

‘Virginia should be here celebrating’

Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Roberts said the family has felt “a mixed bag of emotions” since the palace’s latest announcement.

“[Virginia] should be sitting on this camera with you right now celebrating this but also demanding more justice,” he said.

“I think it’s a mixed bag of emotions over the last 24 hours but we are just hell bent to not let her voice die.”

Virginia Giuffre in 2019. File pic: AP
Image:
Virginia Giuffre in 2019. File pic: AP

Mr Roberts added he would welcome a meeting with the King and “love the opportunity to tell my sister’s story to the palace”.

“If the King is saying he stands with survivors out there and if the King is saying he stands with survivors and their victims, then meet with us, have a conversation with us,” he said.

“We’re real people with real stories that can affect real change and I think my sister did something unprecedented that says advocacy can affect change, advocacy can lead to justice.”

Andrew no longer Duke of York

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been removed from the official roll of the peerage, representing a significant step in the formal revocation of his titles.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that his name was struck from the roll after the King decided to strip his brother of the Prince and Duke of York titles and the HRH style, effectively ending his public role.

Andrew has been stripped from his titles. Pic: PA
Image:
Andrew has been stripped from his titles. Pic: PA

Dukes, including the Duke of York, are recorded on the roll of the peerage, which is maintained by the Crown Office under the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor, David Lammy.

As justice secretary, Mr Lammy was set to receive royal warrants from the King to remove the Duke from the roll, along with his Prince title and HRH style.

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The King’s hand was forced by public opinion as he sends his brother to ‘life in exile’

Andrew to leave Royal Lodge in Windsor

In addition to losing his royal titles, Andrew has been ordered to leave Royal Lodge – a 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park where he lived for more than 20 years.

Royal Lodge
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Royal Lodge

Andrew will now be moving to a property on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, around 100 miles north of London, which is privately owned by the King.

The estate is perhaps most famous as the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas holiday residence.

It remains unclear when Andrew will leave the property, though it is expected to be “as soon as practicable”.

Read more:
Key claims in Virginia Giuffre memoir
Why Charles could no longer ignore public opinion
Where will Andrew live next?

The view from the gardens of Sandringham House in Norfolk. Pic: iStock
Image:
The view from the gardens of Sandringham House in Norfolk. Pic: iStock

It is understood that the King made the decision due to his brother’s significant lapses in judgement, and had the backing of the royal family, including the Prince of Wales.

Sarah Ferguson, who previously lived with her former husband Andrew at Royal Lodge, will not be provided accommodation by the King and will need to find a new residence.

Andrew’s downfall

The latest developments in the long-running controversy come amid renewed scrutiny of the King’s brother, after he tried earlier this month to address Ms Giuffre’s allegations by relinquishing his dukedom and other honours ahead of the release of her posthumous memoir.

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Prince Andrew thought ‘sex with me was his birthright’

Instead of easing scrutiny, Andrew faced mounting criticism over his property, and some MPs pushed for the issue to be debated in parliament.

He has also been the subject of damaging media reports, including allegations that he attempted to enlist the Metropolitan Police to collect information for a smear campaign against Ms Giuffre.

The King’s decision to strip his brother of his titles is likely to be seen by commentators as an effort by the royal family to distance itself from Andrew.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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Removal of Andrew’s titles is seismic – but there is another major shift in palace’s statement

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Removal of Andrew's titles is seismic - but there is another major shift in palace's statement

The public and politicians had spoken, and the King, it seems, had no choice.

As head of the institution, family bonds took second place; the survival of the monarchy and its reputation in the end was paramount.

But while the removal of the titles, styles and honours, from the man now just known as Andrew, is seismic, there are other significant shifts in this bombshell pronouncement from the palace.

Follow latest news and reaction: Andrew no longer Duke of York

The decision to publicly state that “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse” is huge.

In all the years that the allegations have rumbled on against Andrew – accusations he denies – I have never publicly heard the royal family come out in support of the victims around this story.

Andrew himself, during his Newsnight interview, never offered any kind of sympathy or apology to Jeffrey Epstein’s wider victims.

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Can Andrew still become King?

With both Queen Camilla and the Duchess of Edinburgh working to support victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, the family’s silence has always felt difficult to fully understand.

Read more:
Why King could no longer ignore public opinion
Everything we know as Andrew loses titles

I have no doubt that pressure from other members of the family will have meant now was the right time for the King to make their position clear.

We also understand this latest action was taken to acknowledge serious lapses in judgement from Andrew.

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Andrew loses titles: What you need to know in two minutes

Again, the palace has never gone this far. In the past, they have simply tried to distance themselves from the constant drip of revelations.

While this is a King mindful of the future of the monarchy, he has also worked hard to build a reputation as an empathic and socially engaged man.

The noise around Andrew was deafening, he has listened, and as a result, his actions are monumental.

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Andrew pays the ultimate price after years of public disdain

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Andrew pays the ultimate price after years of public disdain

Andrew always denied the allegations – but the repeated accusations would not go away.

And his associations risked real reputational damage to the Royal Family.

His friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, his dealings with an alleged Chinese spy, and then the posthumous publication of his accuser, Virginia Giuffre’s memoir.

Her family said she brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.

The piling pressure was starting to overshadow the work of Andrew’s wider family. And with the Prince of Wales soon heading to Brazil for his Earthshot award, enough was enough.

We understand the Royal Family, including Prince William backed the King’s leadership on this matter.

The King made the decisions, his family supported them.

More on Jeffrey Epstein

Both Andrew, and former secretary of state Peter Mandelson's public lives have been dismantled by their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: PA
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Both Andrew, and former secretary of state Peter Mandelson’s public lives have been dismantled by their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: PA

Andrew will leave Royal Lodge, his large home on the Windsor estate. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who also lived there, will “make her own arrangements”.

It was their family home for many years. Both daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who grew up there, will keep their titles.

Andrew's ex-wife has continued to live at the Royal Lodge estate but will now be left to make her own housing arrangements. Pic: PA
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Andrew’s ex-wife has continued to live at the Royal Lodge estate but will now be left to make her own housing arrangements. Pic: PA

As for Andrew, he will soon move to Sandringham – the King’s private Norfolk estate – where the family traditionally gathers for Christmas; and he will be funded privately by the King.

Read more:
Andrew allegations should be examined in ‘fullest ways’

This is all a formal process carried out in consultation with official authorities, but the government supports the decision taken.

This will not have been easy for the King, but he knew he could not ignore public opinion. The criticism and anger directed at Andrew was never going to stop – and only he had the power to take the ultimate action against his own brother.

For years, Andrew enjoyed the perks and privileges of his powerful position, but his birthright could not withstand withering public disdain.

And now he’s paid the ultimate price.

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