“DEEPLY authoritarian” powers to restrict the right to protest are set to become law, prompting campaign groups to declare today a “dark day for civil liberties” in Britain.

Following a Westminster stand-off, peers eventually approved the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill late on Tuesday night by 180 votes to 113. 

Provisions allowing police to shut down protests if they are deemed too noisy were also waved through after a Labour bid by to block them was rejected. 

The vote marks the end of a protracted tussle between peers and MPs, which saw the Lord and Commons disagree on the issues of noisy protests and curbs on public assemblies. The legislation now only requires royal assent before it becomes law.

The Bill was passed despite furious opposition to the anti-protest measures and provisions targeting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, which gave rise to the national Kill the Bill movement. 

“This is dark day for civil liberties in the UK,” said Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh. 

“This deeply authoritarian Bill places profound and significant restrictions on the basic right to peacefully protest and will have a severely detrimental impact on the ability of ordinary people to make their concerns heard.”

Friends, Families and Travellers director Sarah Mann warned that measures criminalising trespass set a “terrifying precedent not just for Gypsy and Traveller families but for society at large.”

“This Bill punishes people for the ‘crime’ of having nowhere else to go,” she pointed out.

Nonetheless, campaigners remained defiant today, vowing to continue their fight against the new powers. 

Delia Mattis of Black Lives Matter, a member of the Kill the Bill coalition, said: “They may be making this into law, but the law will be an infringement on our human rights and we will continue to protest against the injustices that our communities are faced with. 

“We have been using protest as a way to challenge the state for hundreds of years and we will continue to do so for hundreds more years.”

Kevin Blowe of policing monitoring group Netpol said: “Now the Bill has passed, the real battle begins. 

“We are calling on campaigners to resist new powers by making sure they are fully briefed on their rights and are ready to actively challenge limitations on protests, legally if necessary.”

The government accepted a requirement for the Home Secretary to review the new powers within two years.