Public Order Act 1986

The Public Order Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a number of public order offences. It replaces common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936, implementing recommendations of the Law Commission. The Act defines new offences, abolishes common law offences such as affray, riot, and unlawful assembly, and creates offences related to stirring up racial, religious, and hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. The Act has been criticized for misuse of powers, particularly section 14, and has been subject to controversy and campaigns for reform, including the "Reform Section 5" campaign, which led to a change in the threshold for speech restricted by the act.learn more on wikipedia