Extinction Rebellion joining Kill The Bill Lincoln protest

Extinction Rebellion Lincolnshire will join a Kill The Bill protest in Lincoln on Saturday, with organisers asking likeminded people to bring friends, placards, banners, posters, signs and their singing voice.

The protest will take place at 2pm on Saturday, April 3 in Lincoln’s Cornhill Quarter. Demonstrators are advised to wear face masks and be socially distanced.

Lincoln student James Jackson set up the event and has been liaising with Lincolnshire Police, who will continue to monitor the situation.

The 18-year-old college student told The Lincolnite that there will be chanting and they will listen to anyone who wants to speak as they try and raise awareness of what he believes is an authoritarian policing bill.

James, who is currently in the process of making banners for the event, said: “I feel strongly about the bill and felt it was important to have an event closer to home.

“The protest itself might not change anything, but hopefully with the other protests around the UK it will create momentum for the government to listen to about what is a restrictive and dangerous bill. The bill sets a dangerous precedent for the right to protest.

“At one point we thought we may have to cancel, but it will be going ahead and we now have Extinction Rebellion on board which is great.”

The Kill The Bill Lincoln Instagram page currently has over 70 followers, while nine people responded to the Facebook event.

Rosemary Robinson, of Extinction Rebellion Lincolnshire, will be attending the event while some of their supporters will be at the protest in London.

The group had initially planned to set up their own silent protest, but when they found out that an event had already been arranged they joined forces to be part of it.

She said: “Extinction Rebellion has relied on peaceful protests to get its message across, but we feel the new bill will impact on our ability to do this and it emasculates the whole protest process.”

Inspector Claire Hime of Lincolnshire Police said: “We have been made aware of this event and are seeking to engage with the organisers.”

Kill the Bill refers to a 307-page Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that will give police and the home secretary greater powers to crack down on protests. Police chiefs would be able to put more conditions on static protests, such as imposing a start and a finish time and setting noise limits.

Protests are now permitted under England’s coronavirus rules from March 29. However, before this date there were already violent clashes in Bristol after protests against new laws making their way through Parliament.