Thousands of Kill the Bill activists march through central London

Thousands of activists have descended on London as police brace for weekend of chaos with more rallies set to take place in towns and cities across the UK.

Protestors, including environmental protest group the Red Brigade – often seen at Extinction Rebellion demonstrations – have gathered at Hyde Park today chanting, banging drums and waving placards daubed with Kill The Bill slogans.

Close by, anti-lockdown demonstrators staged their own protest, supported by Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

And a separate group in Parliament Square were seen demonstrating with anti-sexism slogans, including ‘educate your sons’ and ‘misogyny is the virus’, before chanting ‘women scared everywhere, police and Government do not care’.

There have been a number of Kill The Bill protests held in recent weeks to show opposition to the Government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021, which would give police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance.  

Protesting is now legal in England following a change in Covid-19 lockdown rules which came into force on Monday, but organisers are required to submit risk assessments and ensure social distancing.

Thousands of Kill the Bill activists have descended on London as police brace for weekend of chaos with more rallies set to take place in towns and cities across the UK. Pictured: Protestors in Parliament Square

Protestors, including environmental protest group the Red Brigade – often seen at Extinction Rebellion demonstrations – have gathered at Hyde Park today 

A separate group in Parliament Square were demonstrating with anti-sexism slogans, including ‘educate your sons’ and ‘misogyny is the virus’ 

Protests and demonstrations were expected this weekend on what is forecast to be a is the first to benefit from the easing of ‘stay at home’ lockdown restrictions. 

Organisers reminded demonstrators to stay socially distanced on this ‘national weekend of action’ as they attempted to control the crowds.

But it is not just London that has seen chaos today with rallies also taking place in towns and cities across the UK.  

Protests and demonstrations were expected across England this weekend on what is forecast to be a is the first to benefit from the easing of ‘stay at home’ lockdown restrictions. Pictured: Protestors in London

There have been a number of ‘Kill The Bill’ protests held to show opposition to the Government’s proposed Police, Crime , Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021. Pictured: Crowds in central London today 

The group that gathered in Parliament Square and chanted ‘women scared everywhere, police and Government do not care’ before several women addressed the crowds and shared their own personal experiences of suffering abuse and being drugged

Earlier today several hundred people gathered beneath Grey’s Monument in Newcastle for a similar Kill the Bill protest.

There was a low-key response to the city centre gathering from Northumbria Police.

Protesters cheered as a singer with a guitar performed in opposition to the proposed bill as another attendee held up a placard saying: ‘We will not be silenced.’ 

The crowd has since made its way through the city centre chanting: ‘Whose streets, our streets’ and ‘F*** Priti Patel’.

At the Civic Centre many took the knee and held a minute’s silence for victims of oppression after which a round of applause broke out. 

Earlier today several hundred people gathered beneath Grey’s Monument in Newcastle (pictured) for a similar Kill the Bill protest

There was a low-key response to the city centre gathering from Northumbria Police and protesters cheered as a singer with a guitar performed in opposition to the proposed bill

The crowd (pictured) has since made its way through Newcastle city centre chanting: ‘Whose streets, our streets’ and ‘F*** Priti Patel’

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill would toughen measures officers can take to disperse demonstrations, such as imposing time and noise limits, which campaigners and activists fear would be used to curb dissent.

Since the bill was brought before parliament last month, there have been sporadic protests, notably in Bristol, southwest England, where demonstrations turned violent with officers and a police station bombarded with bricks and glass bottles, and police vehicles set on fire.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticised what he described as ‘disgraceful attacks’ on officers, but protesters have accused police of using heavy-handed tactics.