THE British government’s continuing assault on dissent and the right to protest is part of worldwide attack on democratic rights and will be resisted, Amnesty International said torday.

The human rights group launched an international campaign of resistance against growing authoritarianism as international governments seek to quell movements such as Black Live Matter, Me Too and groups demanding action on climate change.

Amnesty International accused governments, including Britain’s, of attempting to “criminalise protest.”

The group said: “From the climate crisis to systemic racism and gender-based violence, a multitude of issues have made collective action more necessary than ever.

“But from the UK to Russia, France to Senegal, Iran to Sri Lanka, authorities are implementing an expanding array of measures to suppress organised dissent.”

It singled out British government for introducing increasingly repressive measures through legislation.

“Last month, the UK’s policing legislation came into force, giving the police and government ministers wide-ranging powers to clamp down on protest including the ability to ban noisy protests,” Amnesty International said.

“Before this law was introduced, police were required to show that a protest may result in ‘serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community’ if they wanted to shut it down.

“Now, police chiefs can impose a start and finish time, set noise limits and can apply these rules to a protest by just one person.”

Amnesty warned that the new laws “could see ministers attempting to shut down protests and opinions it simply doesn’t agree with.”

It accused the government of including in a new Public Order Bill repressive measures rejected by the House of Lords in the Policing Bill.

The Bill will criminalise carrying items such as superglue or bicycle locks which could be used for “lock on” protests.

Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said that campaigners such as suffragettes had helped create the society of today, saying: “Never before has the British government been so hell-bent on crushing dissent that they have moved to criminalise so many aspects of peaceful protest.

“This is an administration which knows a long period of discontent is coming and is gearing up for that by gagging ordinary members of the public from raising their concerns.”