TORY plans to crack down on the right to protest are an “unprecedented, draconian assault on British liberty,” Labour MP Jon Trickett has warned.

The left-wing member for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire told the Commons on Tuesday that ministers are attempting to strengthen the “repressive arms of the British state” via the widely condemned Public Order Bill.

Downing Street claims that the legislation, which is back in the Commons after being amended by peers, is needed to avoid disruption caused by environmental activists at Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion. 

The wide-reaching plans include measures that would mean police would not have to wait for disruption to occur before shutting down a protest — a provision which sets a “dangerous precedent,” according to human rights group Liberty.

Speaking as MPs considered House of Lords amendments to the Bill, Mr Trickett warned that ministers plan to grant police powers to “intercept people who are not even suspected of committing a crime.

“That is an extraordinary power to give after over 1,000 years of the struggle of the British people to have a state that protects our liberty.

“The only thing that is comparable are the laws that were passed against terrorism, but protesting against injustice is not terrorism.

“The police themselves have said they don’t want these powers. It will lead to a further breakdown in confidence between the police and other parts of the state and communities.

“The British state claimed historically to be the bastion of our liberty, but this Bill will become an engine of our suppression — an authoritarian state is being created here.”