Plan to make climbing on war memorials a crime thrown into doubt

Plans to punish thugs who climb on war memorials with a £1,000 fine and three months in prison have been thrown into doubt, The Telegraph can reveal.

The move was announced by the Conservative government in February and written into proposed legislation.

But under Labour it is unclear if the measure will be taken forward after civil servants proposed dropping the policy.

A Home Office spokesman declined to promise that the law change would be implemented when approached for comment by The Telegraph on claims it was facing the axe.

It is understood Government officials have recommended the move to create a specific offence for the behaviour should be dropped as it is covered in other laws.

But Home Office insiders claim that ministers are fighting to keep the policy and are determined that it features in new crime legislation.

A Home Office source said: “Labour ministers will do everything in their power to make sure this crime is outlawed.”

The move could see the Government criticised after Labour named cracking down on anti-social behaviour as one of its six priorities for office during the general election campaign.

It comes after services were held at war memorials across the country on Remembrance Day, to mark the end of the First World War.

The measures were unveiled by the Tories in February as part of plans to give police extra powers to tackle protests and vandalism of memorials.

The Home Office, then under James Cleverly, vowed to “make climbing on war memorials a specific public order offence, carrying a three-month sentence and a £1,000 fine”.

The measure was included in the Criminal Justice Bill.

However, that piece of legislation collapsed when it failed to pass Parliament before the general election on July 4, meaning the measures were never brought into effect.

Labour ministers in the Home Office are now considering which elements of the old legislation to include in their new Crime and Policing Bill, expected to be unveiled in the first half of 2025.

A Home Office insider denied that ministers had accepted advice from officials to drop the plan for a stand-alone public order offence for war memorial vandalism.

Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, is said to have told officials at a private meeting last month she wanted to keep the change. Ultimately it is ministers, not civil servants, who decide government policy.

The source added the issue was yet to reach Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, who would have the final call on the move.

A Whitehall source said of the current internal debate: “There is a sense among officials that some of the measures are not needed. You can deal with it with different sections of existing legislation.”

Officials are understood to have also voiced opposition during Mr Cleverly’s initial interest in the policy before it was announced, but their concerns were overruled.

But supporters inside the Government are arguing that having a specific public offence could act as a powerful deterrent.

Chief Constable BJ Harrington, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for public order, welcomed the changes when the Tory Government announced them in February.

Mr Harrington said then: “We welcome the proposal to create new offences relating to war memorials and flares, as well as making it clear that covering your face at a protest to conceal identity is not acceptable.

“These changes are in line with conversations that we have had with the Home Office to ensure that we have the powers that we need to get balance right between the rights of those who wish to protest, and those impacted by them.”

It is understood the measures to crack down on the use of face masks and flares have been retained in early discussions about the Crime and Policing Bill.