Labour’s plan to beef up the buffer zones around abortion clinics would literally criminalise the thoughts in your head.

The previous UK government’s record on free speech was unimpressive, but at least some of its ministers had the right instincts. In a short seven weeks, the new Labour government has already trashed the Conservatives’ Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 and given a post-riots nod and wink to the police and CPS to make examples of those posting their hateful views online. As if that wasn’t bad enough, home secretary Yvette Cooper now intends to make buffer zones around abortion clinics even more restrictive.

Last year, MPs forced through an amendment to the Public Order Act 2023 to add Section 9. This banned any act within 150 metres of an abortion clinic that might influence a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy. Though aimed at putting an end to the noisy religious demonstrations that had become a feature outside clinics, the law went way beyond this.