Provided 4791 (and counting down) more people sign up to this pledge, I will be one of the six thousand people linking arms to express my opposition to the new rules which resulted in someone being fined for reading the names of Iraqi civilians at the cenotaph.

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) bans the right of protest (unless it is cleared by a commissioner 6 days in advance) within a 1km radius of the UK’s seat of government. The area covers the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, most government ministries, St Thomas’s Hospital, part of the South Bank and Lambeth Palace.

As such the zone presents a threat to freedom of speech in that it prevents people’s voices being heard by those who make our laws. Since it would be illegal to protest about this the zone, the pledge aims to organise a 100% legal protest just outside the zone.

NB: This isn’t a petition, only sign the pledge if you can attend (for a start you need to live in the UK)