Public Order Act 1986

The Public Order Act 1986 is one of the most significant pieces of UK legislation governing public speech and behaviour. It creates several criminal offences relating to threatening, abusive, and insulting conduct, and includes provisions against incitement to racial hatred.

Section 4 — Fear or Provocation of Violence

Section 4 makes it an offence to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards another person with intent to cause that person to believe that immediate unlawful violence will be used, or to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence.

Penalty: Summary conviction — up to 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine.

Section 4A — Intentional Harassment, Alarm or Distress

Section 4A creates an offence where a person uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress, and thereby causes such harassment, alarm or distress.

Key elements: (1) intent must be proven, (2) harassment/alarm/distress must actually be caused, (3) defence of reasonable conduct available.

Section 4B (in force 1 April 2026): A new aggravated offence where the Section 4A offence is committed because of the victim's sex. Triable either way — up to 2 years.

Section 5 — Harassment, Alarm or Distress

A lower-level offence: using threatening or abusive (but not merely insulting) words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress. This is a fine-only offence (level 3).

Part III — Incitement to Racial Hatred (ss.17-29)

Creates offences of using threatening, abusive or insulting words/behaviour, or publishing/distributing written material, with intent to stir up racial hatred or where racial hatred is likely to be stirred up. Either-way offence — up to 7 years. DPP consent required for prosecution.