To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission an independent external review into whether the Lancashire Police operation at the Cuadrilla site near Blackpool since January 2017 has upheld legally protected fundamental rights.
Answered on
23 November 2017
The police have statutory and common law powers and duties in relation to public order policing which must be used in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The police have a responsibility to facilitate peaceful protest and provide a lawful and proportionate policing response. This should balance the needs and rights of protesters with those affected by the protest, whilst ensuring they preserve the peace, uphold the law and prevent the commission of offences. Police tactics and decisions on how to achieve these objectives are a matter for the independent operational judgement of chief officers of police.