UK politics news live: Latest kill the bill protests and vaccine updates

Police have issued warnings against large gatherings ahead of protests expected to take place across England today in response to a controversial policing bill.

Rallies against the Government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill are expected to take place in London, Manchester, Leeds and Southampton, with a rally expected to take place in London’s Finsbury Park starting at 2pm.

On Thursday, the Metropolitan Police warned that “enforcement action will be taken, if needed, in the interests of public health”.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police rolled out a 48-hour dispersal order for the city centre, which will allow officers to order anyone displaying behavior deemed anti-social to leave the area.

The order is expected to remain in effect until 3pm on Saturday.

Protesters have taken issue with the policing bill as it will give police and the Home Secretary new powers over public demonstrations, with law enforcement able to impose start and finish times on rallies and to set noise limits, among other powers.

Labour peer Baroness Shami Chakrabarti has joined a cross-party call warning against the introduction of vaccine passports, with the former shadow attorney general calling the potential move “dangerous” and “discriminatory”.

Speaking with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said the use of passports indicating whether someone has received their coronavirus jab or is in some other way unlikely to have the virus would represent a significant “level of intrusion”.

“It’s dangerous, it’s discriminatory, it’s counter-productive,” she said, according to PA.

“It seems to me, and many others, that on the one hand, if this level of intrusion into our lives were to be proportionate, then probably it’s not safe to open up the economy,” she continued.

“On the other hand, if it is safe to open up the economy, to come out of this lockdown and this crisis that we have been living under, if it is safe to do that, why create this tool of discrimination, oppression and bullying?”

The former shadow attorney general is among more than 70 politicians to join in a cross-party urging the government against use of the vaccine passports.

It comes as reporting from The Telegraph suggested that the government could be running vaccine passport pilot tests within weeks.

More than 70 MPs have joined forces in a cross-party call to warn against the introduction of vaccine passports in England.

The cross-party group, which includes former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as well as 40 Conservative MPs, say they believe the use of vaccine passports could be “divisive and discriminatory”.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believed vaccine passports would “definitely” be used to enable international travel, with the certificates expected to show whether someone has received their coronavirus vaccine, but also potentially whether they have coronavirus antibodies or have recently tested negative for the virus.

MPs’ opposition comes on the heels of Mr Johnson’s support for the use of the certificates, as well as amid reporting from The Telegraph suggesting that the government could be running a series of pilot tests for use of the passports within weeks.

Dozens of MPs have signed the pledge against the rollout of vaccine passports, which states: “We oppose the divisive and discriminatory use of Covid status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs.”