16 Wednesday June 8 2022 | the times
News
Protesters who dig tunnels to prevent
construction of infrastructure or halt
business activity could face up to three
years in jail.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, is to
announce plans to introduce a criminal
offence to combat protest groups who
delay construction of projects such as
HS2 or block oil refineries.
Police and prosecutors have strug-
gled to charge protesters, among them
the veteran activist known as Swampy,
real name Daniel Hooper, who exca-
vate and move into tunnels.
He was among the activists trying to
stop the building of HS2 who refused to
move from a tunnel near Euston station
in London for 22 days last year. A judge
later threw out charges in connection
with the incident.
Hooper was also among the activists
The government does not know whe-
ther electronic tags on prison leavers
are effective at reducing rates of
reoffending because it was forced to
terminate the £98 million management
programme, Whitehall’s spending
watchdog has found.
The system, called Gemini, failed to
Three-year jail terms planned
for protesters who dig tunnels
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor who barricaded themselves into a
tunnel in Buckinghamshire to halt
progress of the line. The Home Office
said the removal operation at Small
Dean added more than £4 million to the
already overstretched HS2 budget.
Patel will create a new offence in the
Public Order Bill, which is going
through parliament. She said it would
help deter activists from the “serious
duration and dangerous” impact of the
“guerrilla protest tactic”.
The Home Office said the digging of
makeshift tunnels was one of the most
dangerous and costly tactics deployed
by protesters. It said the tunnels could
fill with lethal levels of carbon monox-
ide and dioxide, putting those in the
tunnel at risk as well as those who tried
to remove them.
Going equipped to create such tun-
nels will also be criminalised. The bill
will propose a maximum sentence of
three years’ imprisonment and an un-
limited fine. The Home Office said the
move would for the first time recognise
the gravity of the potential impact of
tunnelling.
Patel said: “This country will not be
held to ransom by so-called activists
unconcerned about putting the lives of
others in danger. These death traps
don’t just put lives at risk, they divert
precious police resources away from
where they are needed most.
“These measures will give our police
the powers they need to crack down on
this lawlessness and continue to make
our streets safer.”
The Home Office said that existing
offences were not sufficient to deal with
the scale of danger and disruption
caused by tunnelling. Another amend-
ment will extend powers to manage
public assemblies to British Transport
Police and Ministry of Defence police.Architecture Laura Freeman
Black Chapel
by Theaster Gates
Serpentine, W
HHIIIDomineering
build is more
mausoleum
than pavilion
Traditionally, it pours on the opening
day of the annual Serpentine
Pavilion. Even more traditionally, the
roof leaks. However, Tuesday in
Kensington Gardens was all blue
skies and sunbathers.
Prepare to have your spirits
squished. What a dull drum of asummer pavilion this is. The
Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates
has designed an ostensibly beautiful
building that misses the brief. The
Black Chapel would make a moving
mausoleum but as a summerhouse it
is dark and enclosing, turning its
back on the park. And today was£98m offender tagging system a failure
enable Prison and Probation Service to
track offenders in real time. It was “in-
tended to improve data and save
money” but the contract with Capita
was scrapped last August because of
“unresolved issues”.
A report by the National Audit Office
said that without Gemini tracking, the
movement of offenders was not poss-
ible and the “poor quality data” that wasavailable did not provide evidence as to
whether tagging measures deterred
crime.
Reoffending costs the economy an
estimated £18 billion per year.
Ellie Reeves, the shadow justice min-
ister, described the findings as “yet
more evidence... that this soft-on-
crime government is letting criminals
off and letting victims down”.Matt Dathan