London, Nov 20 (ANI): British ministers are planning legal action to restrict public protests during 2012 London Olympics, amid fears that the upcoming sport event could be disrupted Occupy-style protests.
According to the Independent, the Home Office is so concerned about the impact of the stalemate over the Occupy London (OLSX) encampment outside St Paul's Cathedral that officials have been ordered to produce plans for avoiding a similar conflict during the Games.
Ministers' plans, includes identifying 'exclusion zones' around key locations, and fast-tracking the removal of protests that are not authorised.t would permit police to move in and disperse encampments quickly, in line with last week's clearance of the Occupy Wall Street camp in New York.
Police have been given enhanced powers to act against protests at the Olympics, including the right to enter private homes and seize political posters.
However, the St Paul's protest and the difficulties resolving the ensuing row raised further concerns about potential threats to the Games, the paper said.
A senior Home Office source said the department had drawn up a series of proposals that pave the way for the removal of protests and encampments in Parliament Square.
The responsibility for taking legal action against protests and encampments would be transferred from landowners to public authorities.
"The threat from protests was always a danger during planning for the Olympics, but the St Paul's protest has shoved it up the agenda. It is not just embarrassing, it can be a threat to security," the paper quoted the source, as saying.
Meanwhile, protesters and legal experts have condemned the moves as an assault on the right to peaceful protest.
An OLSX spokeswoman said that 'if the Government wants to do something that will restrict the right of peaceful protest, it would be in serious trouble.' (ANI)
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