Three reasons we must finally crack down on idiots masquerading as activists

The London Marathon was hijacked by mindless imbeciles who hurled red paint powder into the path of the elite men's race in a puerile, attention-seeking stunt. Once again, our public spaces became a playground for idiots masquerading as activists, ignorant of both the cause they claim to represent and the consequences of their actions.

Their grievance? The Government's support for Israel, which they claim is committing genocide. Yet how many of these "protestors" have even a basic grasp of the historical complexities of the Middle East? How many understand that, of all the displaced peoples on earth, the Jews remain the only group never to have been restored to their ancestral homeland until 1948? How many appreciate the irony of their "righteous anger" being directed at the one democracy in the region where minorities, including Arabs, have voting rights, judicial protection and freedom of speech? Of course, none of this matters. Reasoned debate and historical truth are collateral damage to their self-righteous tantrums.

Enough is enough. It is time for Britain to have a grown-up conversation about a deterrent. Time to confront the uncomfortable truth: we have gone soft as a nation. Disorder is met with indulgence, lawbreaking with excuses, and violence with therapy sessions. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens are left to pick up the pieces.

This must change - and fast. I propose we reintroduce super-swift 'protest hearings', where punishment can be doled out fast and effectively to great deterrent effect; incarceration, swingeing fines and instant restorative justice, cleaning up their own mess and others' and paying for it. Rather than months of taxpayer-funded hearings, this would provide something akin to a short, sharp shock that delivers instant justice, and plants a seed of fear in the minds of those who would otherwise disrupt public life.

When deluded zealots target a cherished national event, causing chaos and advancing their cause not one inch, why should they be coddled by lengthy and expensive court proceedings and, if convicted, slap-on-the-wrist fines they'll never pay?

Modern Britain must realise that moral decay is not reversed by slogans and stern words. These are impotent and redundant. It is reversed by consequences that are fast, certain, and memorable. Today's "activists" are reminiscent of the notorious Just Stop Oil movement, a group whose reckless tactics have included halting ambulances, vandalising priceless works of art and inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of ordinary people. Now these people have disrupted world-class athletes in one of the globe's most watched events. They have learned a simple truth. Britain's justice system is broken and a laughing stock. There is no personal cost to wreaking havoc, so why stop?

Imagine: you storm a bridge during the London Marathon, throwing powder in the faces of runners who've trained their whole lives for this moment. You're arrested, charged and, if convicted, promptly sentenced to a controlled and regulated punishment. No lengthy court proceedings draining public funds, and no endless appeals. A clear, simple message: wreck public life, and feel the consequences.

This fast-track approach would not only deter would-be disrupters. It would also restore public confidence in our justice system; a system currently viewed by many as out of touch, weak, and hopelessly politicised. It would send a powerful signal to those watching from the sidelines that Britain no longer rewards selfish, reckless, deluded behaviour with attention and indulgence. We will not allow our streets, our sporting events, and our civic life to be hijacked by tantrums dressed up as political protest.

Of course, the hand-wringers and human rights lawyers will howl in outrage. Let them. They are part of the reason we are where we are today. A society where the rights of the lawbreaker too often trump the rights of the victim and the law-abiding majority. The truth is brutally simple. When you lose the fear of consequence, you lose respect for the law. And when you lose respect for the law, society itself begins to unravel.

We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to believe Britain can and must be a place where freedom is protected, not abused: where cancel-culture is cancelled; where democracy is cherished, not trampled; and where public life is conducted with dignity, not desecrated by mindless activists.

Nick Freeman, known as Mr Loophole, is Britain's most renowned road traffic defence lawyer as well as a prominent road safety campaigner