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05 March 2009 / Seamus Burns
Issue: 7359 / Categories: Features , Public , Community care , Constitutional law
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Public: An unlawful procession?

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Kay is a welcome boost for small but priceless freedoms. Seamus Burns explains why

It is extremely heartening to see the law lords recognising the perils of acceding to the wishes of the police in insisting on cyclists giving advance notice of an impromptu, yet long established, cycle ride (see Kay v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis [2008] UKHL 69, [2008] All ER (D) 255 (Nov)).

This may appear an innocuous requirement by the police, but, is nonetheless, a worrying example of the executive (here the police) chipping away at our residual freedoms. The law lords' decision arguably recognises that authoritarian societies can emerge incrementally: the price of our freedoms rest on the constant vigilance partially of our judges.

Legal issues

Lord Phillips set out the “agreed facts” in the case, namely: “Critical Mass is not an organisation but the name given to a recurrent event…It takes place in central London on the evening of the last Friday of every month, as it has done

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