Recommendation 13

The reasonable excuse defence in the statutory public nuisance offence is not clear enough for police and protesters. As the Law Commission report noted, the defence should apply where an individual is exercising their Convention rights. The Government must amend the reasonable excuse defence to public nuisance to include an express reference to Articles 10 and 11 in the defence. This would provide clarity for the courts and make clear to the police that they must give significant weight to the right to protest when deciding whether to charge the offence. This is especially important where the offence is being considered in the context of non-violent protest.