The Prime Minister must win a vote in the Commons on Wednesday to preserve the ongoing Coronavirus Act, which was rushed through Parliament on the first day of the national coronavirus lockdown on March 23 and must be renewed every six months to remain in effect. The massive 329 pages of key legislation quickly established significant powers to detain any person who might be infectious, to close borders and postpone elections. The Coronavirus Act also provided powers to suspend human rights safeguards in a range of settings, from the surveillance regime to care homes, according to campaign group Liberty, which has strong campaigned for the legislation to be scrapped since its introduction six months ago.
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But Mr Johnson is already bracing himself for a defeat in the Commons at the hands of Tory rebels, with 42 ministers backing an amendment that would force the Prime Minister to hold a parliamentary debate and vote before imposing any further coronavirus measures, such as curfew, lockdowns or limits on social contact.
Last week, Mr Johnson announced a raft of new rules, including pubs, bars and restaurants closing by 10pm every day, as well as increased punishments for people not wearing a protective face covering across several settings.
Now the Prime Minister is coming under renewed pressure from a huge group of charities and human rights groups, who have called on MPs to scrap the legislation that enables ministers to impose significant restrictions on individuals’ liberties without debate in parliament.
Groups including Liberty, Black Lives Matter UK, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, the Traveller Movement and Big Brother Watch want the Coronavirus Act scrapped altogether.
A statement signed by 22 organisations, representing causes ranging from civil liberties to disability rights, race equality, migrants’ rights, Gypsy and Roma Traveller advocacy, mental health, policing and homelessness, have warned the Government the Act has a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and vulnerable people.
The joint statement urges ministers to “scrap the Act and instead focus on a response to the pandemic which protects everyone’s human rights and keeps civil liberties intact”.
They have also described the legislation as a “lasting threat to our human rights as long as it remains on the statute books”.
Liberty director Martha Spurrier warned: “MPs had barely any time to scrutinise the Coronavirus Act when it was introduced.
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Liberty has highlighted an admission from the Crown Prosecution Service which states dozens of people have been incorrectly charged by police under the Coronavirus Act, with all 44 detentions of “suspected infectious persons” between March and May found to be incorrect.
The campaign group also pointed to its own research, which it said found people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds were 54 per cent more likely to be given fixed penalty notice fines than white people.
The study also found one police force issued almost seven times as many fines to ethnic minorities given their proportion of the local population.
The statement from the 22 organisations read: “In times of crisis, governments can either tap into public spirit and connect communities or increase state powers and use coercive methods that foster ill-will and blame.
“Faced with this choice, the Government opted for a criminal justice response to a public health crisis, prioritising immigration control over saving lives, and rushing through an act of parliament that strips away our rights.”
Signatories include: Liberty; Another Night of Sisterhood; Big Brother Watch; Black Lives Matter UK; Black Protest Legal Support UK; British Institute of Human Rights; Centre for Mental Health; Inquest; Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants; Justice; London Campaign Against Police and State Violence; Maslaha; Museum of Homelessness; National Survivor User Network; Netpol; Northern Police Monitoring Project; Release; Rights and Security International; Runnymede Trust; Streets Kitchen; StopWatch; The Traveller Movement.
