There are no rules or laws in UK banning free speech.
This is part of the problem. There is free speech, there are protests and there are disturbances.
Do you really think the idiot that got on top of the snooker table and peppered it with orange powder was practicing free speech? Or the "stop oil" idiots gluing themselves to roads causing traffic mayhem? If the protesters on Saturday really were not planning any disturbance, why did they choose that particular day to protest? If their following is as big as they say, surely they could have protested on any day. They would then be making themselves the main focal point.