The Government is considering new legislation to clear Parliament Square of remaining protesters
Back in July, most of Parliament Square was cleared of protesters who were effectively camping there permanently. However, as the picture above shows, there remain a few tents on the pavement around the (temporarily sealed off) square, facing the main vehicular entrance to the Houses of Parliament.
At Business Questions yesterday, Conservative MP David Tredinnick raised the issue of them remaining there:
"When does my right hon. Friend expect Parliament square to be cleared of demonstrators? Is he aware that the situation is worse than it was in the summer, with 20 illegally placed tents on the pavement meaning that nobody can use the square at all? When is he going to deal with this situation?"
Replying, the Leader of the House, Sir George Young, indicated that further legislation may be brought forward to bring an end to the protest once and for all:
"I am grateful to my hon. Friend for once again raising this issue. I support the action that the Mayor of London took a few months ago to clear the green in the middle of the square, and I hope that that area will be restored to the condition in which it used to be. In the meantime, the camps have simply moved to the pavement. That is wholly unacceptable, and it is not what one should see in the centre of an historic capital city. We are going to consider legislation in the forthcoming Home Office Bill to put the situation right."
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