Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said: “I welcome the Government’s Public Order Bill receiving Royal Assent. Free speech in our society is important but it shouldn’t be abused by those seeking to undermine our freedom by disrupting our everyday lives.
“In the national news we have seen the mindless actions of some protestors having a detrimental impact on the daily activities of working people who are unable to get to work, attend hospital appointments or drop their children off at school. This is unacceptable.
“In West Mercia, we have thankfully not seen wide-scale protest, but in the event this was to happen, police officers will now have even more powers to stop it from causing serious disruption or having a serious impact on your safety.”