Ireland’s balaclava ban should be introduced and enforced in UK
6 August 2024, 10:29
The Irish government is right to ban balaclavas and the UK government should do the same thing.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The riots across Britain are showing our country at its worst and too many protesters are covering their faces while demonstrating.
The police have acted swiftly in most places in the past week, arresting over 400 people associated with the protests.
The legal system has moved quickly. Plenty of cases have already reached court. There’s been a handful of guilty pleas and sentencing will take place soon.
Yet thousands of Brits have attended these ugly events - many of whom travelled a long way to riot.
One caller to LBC told Tom Swarbrick that he had driven from Essex to Middlesbrough to “to protect England from the invasion of illegal migrants”.
Many protesters have their faces covered at the rallies, meaning police may struggle to track them down.
It’s incredibly disappointing that some criminal thugs will get away with their actions because they have chosen to wear a balaclava.
The Irish government, prompted by disorder in recent years, has decided to legislate against this problem.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has announced that balaclavas and face coverings worn ‘to intimidate’ will be banned at protests.
Earlier this year, the UK government introduced a similar law to ban some face coverings at protests. People in Britain found guilty of wearing an intimidating mask while protesting face a £1,000 fine or a month in prison.
The British ban isn’t working though. If it were a successful law, thousands of people would already be in custody relating to their face covering.
Crossbench peer Lord Walney, the UK government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, has been looking into this problem for months now.
In his recent report, Lord Walney advised the government to “amend regulations related to the Public Order Act 1986 to allow police to impose a blanket ban on face coverings as a condition of a protest going ahead”.
The former Labour MP argued that face coverings make “it difficult to identify those committing offences” at public events.
There’s clearly a case for banning balaclavas beyond protests too. The face covering is associated with criminals and crooks.
I came face-to-face with a young man wearing one two years ago in London. He wasn’t approaching me to ask for the time or make small talk. He cycled up beside me to steal my bike.
The police weren’t able to track the perpetrator. Had his face not been covered, they would’ve found it easier to identify him via CCTV.
The same thing is happening at riots this week - people are getting away with criminal behaviour because they are concealing their faces.
We’re all hoping that the violence on Britain’s streets stops soon. But tensions will likely flare up again and police forces need to be ready to tackle thuggery.
If the government acts now, we could prepare an effective law to stop people covering their faces at protests. This law could be in place in time to curb any future disruption.
Good people don’t wear balaclavas. The UK government should enforce a ban on intimidating face coverings.
