Police and crime bill will create toxic legacy, warns Blunkett

Former UK home secretary says law would drive wedge between officers and the public

The former home secretary David Blunkett has said the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill risks making the UK more like Putin's Russia", and that it would be a lasting and toxic" legacy for the prime minister.

Writing in the Guardian, Blunkett, who served as home secretary under Tony Blair, has said the government's plans to use the bill to prevent peaceful protests would leave a bad taste in the mouths of British people who value tolerance, democracy and open debate".