16.13 Protest, anonymity and public-order law

Status reviewed 15 July 2026. The new provisions described below came into force on 29 June 2026 and principally concern England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different public-order law. This page is general information, not advice for a live protest, arrest, charge, or injunction.

Rights and limits

Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention protect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Public authorities must act compatibly with those rights, and any restriction needs a legal basis and must be necessary and proportionate.

The rights do not immunise violence, criminal damage, intimidation, harassment or every form of disruption. Nor do they stop police imposing lawful conditions under public-order legislation.

The legal effect of a protest turns on facts a short guide cannot resolve:

• whether it is a procession, an assembly or a one-person protest;
• what an organiser knew;
• whether a condition was validly made and communicated;
• the location and cumulative impact;
• the words or conduct used;
• whether a statutory defence or reasonable excuse applies.

Peaceful and unpopular expression can be protected even when it causes offence. But it cuts both ways: calling something a "protest" does not automatically protect otherwise criminal conduct, and a police direction is not automatically lawful just because it was given.

What changed in 2026

Part 10 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 added protest-specific offences and changed police powers.

The Act received Royal Assent on 29 April, and the Home Office's commencement circular says the relevant provisions came into force on 29 June 2026.

These changes sit alongside the Public Order Acts of 1986 and 2023, harassment law, criminal damage, highway law and other existing powers.

Concealing identity in a designated area

Myth: covering your face at any demonstration is now an offence. Reality: sections 157 to 159 create an offence of wearing or otherwise using an item to conceal your own or another person's identity in a locality formally designated by an inspector or more senior officer.

A designation depends on a reasonable belief that:

• a protest is or may be taking place;
• offences are likely to be, or have been, committed in connection with it;
• designation is expedient to prevent or control offending.

Key limits and details:

• Limited in place and time, and it must be publicised as the Act requires.
• The offence is about use for concealment, not merely possessing a scarf or mask.
• Statutory exceptions cover health, religious observance and work-related use. Check the exact wording before relying on one.

Do not assume ordinary anonymity practice overrides a live designation. Equally, an officer's informal statement does not necessarily supply every element of the offence.

This is distinct from the older section 60AA power under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which permits directions to remove face coverings in specified circumstances. The 2026 Act creates a direct offence in a designated area, rather than relying only on refusal to obey a removal direction.

Other new protest offences

• Section 160, pyrotechnics: an offence to possess a pyrotechnic article while taking part in a protest in a public place, subject to statutory defences including reasonable excuse and defined cultural, religious or work uses.
• Section 161, memorials: an offence of climbing on the memorials specifically listed in Schedule 17, subject to listed defences. It is not a general ban on approaching or photographing every memorial.
• Section 162, office-holders' homes: an offence concerning a protest outside or near a public office-holder's dwelling, where the protest is connected with that office and intended to represent to or persuade them about what they should or should not do, or should or should not have done.

Section 162 covers specified elected and public roles and has detailed elements and territorial limits. It should not be paraphrased as a ban on criticising officials or on protest at public buildings.

Expanded police conditions

The 2026 Act amends sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 so that cumulative disruption from frequent protests can be considered when imposing conditions. It also:

• adds powers for protests near places of worship where access or religious activity may be intimidated;
• expands which senior officers can impose conditions;
• extends selected powers to the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police;
• broadens an existing power on harassment at a person's home, so past conduct can be within the protest's target.

Conditions can cover route, location, duration, numbers or other conduct within the statutory power. Whether breaching one is an offence can depend on what you knew or ought to have known.

Going to an event? Check organiser communications and visible police notices rather than assuming yesterday's route and conditions still apply.

Privacy at a protest

A public demonstration is a high-observation environment. Records can come from:

• police cameras, local-authority CCTV and transport systems;
• journalists, livestreams, participants and opponents;
• facial-recognition deployments and vehicle records;
• mobile-network location and social-media uploads.

A face covering may reduce casual recognition, but it does not erase clothing, voice, gait, companions, travel, payment, device or account links. And in a designated area it may now be unlawful when used to conceal identity.

Do not promise anonymity to another participant. Get consent before publishing a close portrait where practical, especially of children or vulnerable people.

That said, photography in public is not governed by one universal consent rule. Journalism, data protection, harassment, safeguarding and platform rules can point in different directions. Blur or crop identifying details when identity adds nothing to the public-interest purpose.

Location sharing is often the easiest link to miss:

• photographs can contain metadata;
• cloud photo services record time and account;
• shared calendars and Find My-style services may reveal attendance;
• ride, map and payment histories create independent records.

Minimise collection before the event, rather than trying to delete a web of copies afterwards.

Phones, recording, and seizure

Recording police in public is not in itself a general offence. But recording must not obstruct an officer, breach a specific lawful restriction, harass a person or expose protected information.

• keep physical distance;
• do not interfere with an arrest;
• preserve original files if the recording may be evidence.

Livestreaming creates an immediate public copy, but it can reveal faces, tactics, locations and bystanders before anyone can assess the harm.

Police powers to seize and search a phone depend on the legal basis and circumstances. Seizing a device does not automatically authorise every proposed search, cloud download or demand for a credential.

Conversely, encryption does not override a valid legal power. Part III of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 can support a properly authorised notice requiring disclosure of a key or intelligible data, with criminal penalties for non-compliance.

Facing an actual demand? Get a solicitor. Do not rely on a protest leaflet or this site to decide whether to answer, unlock, consent or refuse.

For device preparation, the detailed controls in 4.4 apply. A strong passcode, current software, hidden notification previews, minimal cloud data and an emergency contact are more dependable than a novelty "protest phone" that has never been updated or tested.

Biometrics improve everyday theft resistance but may raise different coercion questions from a memorised passcode.

Practical preparation

• Check before leaving: the organiser, route, assembly point, expected conditions, transport disruption and legal-observer information.
• Carry only the data and accounts you need. Back up essential material, charge the phone, and bring a separate battery if appropriate.
• Write an emergency and solicitor contact on paper. Do not make the locked phone the only place that information exists.
• Lock the phone down: strong passcode, notification contents hidden, unnecessary lock-screen replies and controls disabled, device-finding settings checked.
• Know whether a face-covering designation or other condition has been announced. Health and religious exceptions are fact-specific, not a general route around the law.
• Do not carry pyrotechnics or other items just because another attendee says they are allowed. Whoever carries an item bears the immediate risk.
• Separate witnessing from confrontation. Record from a safe position, note times and locations, and preserve originals without reflexively publishing vulnerable people.
• If arrested or given a formal demand, ask for legal advice and the legal basis. Do not obstruct, destroy evidence or improvise a legal argument at the scene.

Sources and jurisdiction

The principal current sources are the Crime and Policing Act 2026, the Home Office commencement circular, and the Crown Prosecution Service protest-offences guidance.

The Home Office circular itself states that it is not legal advice and is not a comprehensive statement of law; this summary has the same limitation.