Coronavirus
   This article is more than 2 months old

Rising number of anti-vaxxers ‘willing to take direct action against schools’

   This article is more than 2 months old

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   Anti-vax protester in London
   [ ]
   A protester holds a placard opposing Covid vaccines for children during
   a march calling for medical freedom in London. Photograph: Martin
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   called for exclusion orders to block activists.

   Amid findings that close to 80% of schools had been targeted by
   anti-vaxxers, Keir Starmer said it was “sickening” that those against
   vaccinations were demonstrating where children are educated.

   The home secretary, Priti Patel, called such protests “completely
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   The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) revealed this
   month that most of the schools surveyed by the union (79%) had been
   targeted by anti-vaxxers. This had mainly been through emails
   threatening legal action, but the ASCL said in some cases staff had
   been threatened with physical harm and that some protesters had gained
   access to school sites.

   Starmer said: “It is sickening that anti-vax protesters are spreading
   dangerous misinformation to children in protests outside schools. The
   uptake of vaccines among children is far too low and the government’s
   rollout is painfully slow. Everything must be done to get those
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   “Labour believes the law around public spaces protection orders [PSPOs]
   urgently needs to be updated so that local authorities can rapidly
   create exclusion zones for anti-vax protests outside schools.”

   PSPOs can be used to disperse people from a public area and have
   previously been used to move on protesters outside abortion clinics or