‘Kill the Bill’ protesters gathered in Margate yesterday (May 1).
The group were protesting against the new police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which campaigners say include measures to stifle freedom of speech and gives police powers to curb public protests.
Kill the Bill campaigners marched along Margate seafront and stopped by the Duke Street tree protest camp, set up to object to the felling of a Sycamore tree in the Old Town.
Duke Street protesters are now in their sixth day of occupation at the plot which had been earmarked as a community garden until Thanet council sold it in 2017 and granted planning permission in 2018 for a four-storey property with five flats and a commercial unit.
Kent Police were not called although officers assisted with some traffic management.
The government says the new bill will not stop people carrying out peaceful protests but will prevent ‘disruptive’ tactics.
