Sunak says the UK is descending into mob rule. Critics accuse him of undermining protest rights

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Britain is descending into “mob rule” because of the pressures created by protests against the Israel-Hamas war. His words were criticized as alarmist by a human rights group. Sunak told a meeting of police leaders that “increasingly violent and intimidatory behavior” is intended to “shout down free debate and stop elected representatives doing their job.” He urged police to take a tougher stance with demonstrators. Tom Southerden of Amnesty International said Thursday that Sunak’s language “wildly exaggerates the issue and risks delegitimizing the rights of peaceful protest.” Pro-Palestinian protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to central London almost weekly since October to call for a cease-fire in the war.