HUNDREDS of people are expected to hit the streets again tomorrow in protest against a controversial policing bill set to be debated in the Commons next week.

Demonstrators will gather at the Level at 5pm and then march through the city in opposition to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is due to be discussed in Parliament again on Monday.

The bill will enter the fourth stage in the parliamentary process - the Report stage - when MPs can suggest further amendments following changes made by a committee.

Kill the Bill campaigners describe the bill as "draconian" due to plans to place restrictions on protests and increase police powers.

These include imposing start and finish times and setting noise limits - and protesters refusing to comply could be fined up to £2,500, under the proposals.

The conditions would apply to a single person staging a protest as well as groups.

The Argus: A previous Kill the Bill protest in Brighton earlier this yearA previous Kill the Bill protest in Brighton earlier this year

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" in order to place restrictions.

The Home Office said the National Police Chief’s Council have expressed concerns that existing public order legislation is outdated and no longer appropriate for responding to "highly disruptive protest tactics used by some groups today".

The online policy paper refers to Extinction Rebellion’s protests in April and October 2019 and said the policing operation for the two extended protests cost £37 million.

But parliament’s joint committee on human rights (JCHR) has said restrictions on protests breach human rights laws and would risk peaceful protesters being criminalised.

They said the bill contains provisions that are unnecessary and disproportionate.

Labour MP Harriet Harman, the committee’s chairwoman, said: “One of our most fundamental rights is to protest.

"It is the essence of our democracy. To do that, we need to make ourselves heard. The government proposals to allow police to restrict ‘noisy’ protests are oppressive and wrong."

The Argus:

Eben Lazarus, who will be marching in Brighton tomorrow, said: "The message we are trying to get across is plain and simple: the people of the United Kingdom will not tolerate Priti Patel's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

"The UK is a democracy with a rich history of protests, and this Bill simply doesn't align with the democratic values of our nation."

Another campaigner Megan De Meo said: "We stand against the policing bill, against police brutality, against the carceral state, against misogyny and racism — and demand a future where we all have the right to protest, a future where we are all safe.”

Several groups are set to join tomorrow's Kill the Bill march, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Brighton-based Anti-Nazi Action League.

There is likely to be some disruption to traffic in the city centre during the march.