UKDailyMail
Police
have been handed ‘Chinese-style’ powers to enter private homes and
seize political posters during the London 2012 Olympics.
Little-noticed
measures passed by the Government will allow officers and Olympics
officials to enter homes and shops near official venues to confiscate
any protest material.
Breaking the rules could land offenders with a fine of up to £20,000.
Civil
liberties groups compared the powers to those used by the Communist
Chinese government to stop political protest during the 2008 Beijing
Games.
Anita Coles, of Liberty, said: ‘Powers of entry should be
for fighting crime, not policing poster displays. Didn’t we learn last
time that the Olympics should not be about stifling free expression?’
The
powers were introduced by the Olympics Act of 2006, passed by the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport, supposedly to preserve the
monopoly of official advertisers on the London 2012 site.
They would allow advertising posters or hoardings placed in shop or home to be removed.
But
the law has been drawn so widely that it also includes ‘non-commercial
material’ – which could extend its reach to include legitimate campaign
literature.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘This is a
Government who just doesn’t understand civil liberties. They may claim
these powers won’t be used but the frank truth is no one will believe
them.’
Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said: ‘This sort of
police action runs the risk of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. ‘We
should aim to show the Chinese that you can run a successful Olympics
without cracking down on protestors and free speech.’
Scotland Yard denied it had any plans to use the powers.
Assistant
Commissioner Chris Allison said: ‘We have no intention of using our
powers to go in and take down demonstration posters.’
But critics said that – given the powers were now law – it was impossible to predict what would happen in three years time.
Campaigners
said the existence of the powers was ‘dreadful’. Peter McNeil, who is
against the holding of equestrian events in Greenwich Park said: ‘It’s
bullying taken to another level. It’s quite appalling that this should
happen in a democracy.’
The power emerged as the Home Office and
police outlined the £600million security operation for the Games, which
will cost more than £9billion in total.
They said hundreds of
flights could have to be diverted every day, with planes prevented from
passing over the main venue for the London games.
Olympic security chiefs said they expected to have to ‘manage’ the airspace over the Olympic Park in east London.
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