Giving evidence this week, Sir Jonathan Jones QC, former head of the Government Legal Department, said there had been a ‘tendency to legislate at very short notice.
‘Persistently throughout the pandemic we have seen regulations being drafted and published sometimes immediately before they are due to come into force, sometimes a matter of hours and sometimes a couple of days. This makes it very difficult for people to know what the law is going to be’.
Jones said he had seen lawyers ‘anxiously asking each other on Twitter and social media if anyone has seen details of the new law due to come into force tomorrow’. The confusion had also led to police forces adopting different interpretations of the law.
Also giving evidence, Pippa Woodrow of Doughty Street Chambers said there had been a ‘chilling’ effect on protest due to uncertainty over what the law said.
