A PROTEST is due to take place today against legislation which would grant police more powers to curb demonstrations.

A "Kill the Bill" march is planned to take place in Brighton, with activists marching through the city from 2pm, and delays possible this afternoon.

Protesters will set off from the Level and are demonstrating against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

The socially distanced march is among several protests planned across the country today against the proposed legislation.

READ MORE: Protesters gather outside Brighton Police Station

MPs voted 359 to 263, a majority of 96, at the second reading of the bill on Tuesday evening.

The controversial bill would mean police officers could place more restrictions on protests, including start and finish times and noise limits. These conditions would apply to a single person staging a protest, as well as groups.

Demonstrators refusing to comply could be fined up to £2,500, under the proposals.

Currently police have to show that a protest could cause "serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community" if order to place restrictions on a protest.

The government has said the the proposed legislation would allow the police to take a “more proactive approach” to managing “highly disruptive” protests deemed to cause a public disturbance.

Earlier this week, Caroline Lucas MP slammed the bill, saying it would "undermine one of our most precious rights".

SEE ALSO: Caroline Lucas MP slams Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

She said: "The government is rushing this bill through parliament in a knee-jerk reaction to last year's Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion protests because some right-wing MPs didn’t like them.

"Criminalising protests which are noisy or ‘have an impact’, as this bill would, is outrageous and hands the police sweeping powers to interpret that as they will."

Last night, the government came under renewed pressure to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions to allow protests to go ahead.

More than 60 MPs and peers signed a letter warning that allowing the police to criminalise people for protesting is “is not acceptable and is arguably not lawful”.

The letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel and Health Secretary Matt Hancock was co-ordinated by Liberty and Big Brother Watch.

It follows the outcry over the way the Metropolitan Police moved in to break up a vigil last week on Clapham Common in memory of Sarah Everard.

The letter said such “shocking scenes” were “entirely avoidable” if the government had provided guidance to police and ensured protests were clearly exempt from the ban on gatherings under lockdown.