Creation of safe access zones would be a worrying intrusion on our human rights and freedom of expression, claims a retired law lecturer.

Peter Murcott will give a public talk next month on the implications of a Bill to designate public protection zones around health, social care and medical facilities.

Rushen MHK and now Infrastructure Minister Dr Michelle Haywood’s Private Member’s Bill aims to protect patients and service users from interference, intimidation or harassment.

Mr Murcott, a prominent opponent of abortion reform, same sex marriage and the proposed Assisted Dying Bill, will give a talk at the Loch Promenade Methodist Church on March 5 at 7pm, arguing that the Bill places ‘severe restrictions’ on speech within the zones.

He said: ‘Under the Bill, the Department of Health can establish “Safe Access Zones” where freedom of expression will be curtailed.

‘The department will not be required to provide justification and may extend these zones without limit. This is a worrying intrusion on our human rights and freedom of expression.’

The Safe Access Zones and Protected Public Places Bill was given its second reading in the House of Keys last December.

Dr Haywood launched a call for evidence and views can be submitted to her until March 16.

Under the proposed legislation, protected services include healthcare services, medical research and innovative medical treatments.

It effectively aims to extend the similar access protection that was put in place as part of the Abortion Act to apply to other health and social care settings. A second part of the Bill mirrors UK legislation around public space protection orders.

But during the debate on the second reading, a number of MHKs questioned the need for the Bill.

Julie Edge (Onchan) said: ‘Why are we doing this? Nobody seems to be able to answer that.

‘To me, I do think it is backdoor policy to open up different things outside of the Assisted Dying Bill and I am very uncomfortable with it.’

Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas said: ‘What is the problem that we are fixing? We already have legislation ahead of the UK in our Abortion Act 2019, the same safe access zones that we have had since the early days were in the Public Order Act in 2023 across.’

Dr Haywood insisted that public space protection orders are not intended to curb protests, parties or target any particular group of society but she acknowledged there was understandably some nervousness that they could place a limit on public freedoms.

But she said the public space protection part of the Bill was closely allied to orders that have now been in place in the UK for over a decade, and there had been no valid challenges to European Court of Human Rights over that legislation.

She said that this Bill was not drafted with the assisted dying legislation in mind.

‘I was driven by the experience of my constituents and others, to try and address some of the gaps that lie between harassment legislation and formulate a solution that fixes their very specific and targeted problems,’ she said.