A DECISION on controversial plans for further restrictions on busking and begging was delayed last night after a civil rights group threatened legal action.

Liberty argued a public space protection order (PSPO) proposed by Oxford City Council was unlawful and would “criminalise homeless people and buskers”.

The order would have banned “persistent begging” and sleeping in public toilets in the city centre, but would have also effectively enshrined into law a buskers’ code of conduct.

Under the draft proposals, city council officers would gain powers to enforce the rules using on-the-spot fines of £100 and those who do not pay could be prosecuted.

Senior councillors on the executive board were due to consider the order last night, but council leader Bob Price said a decision would be delayed to consider Liberty’s objection.

He said: “We have asked officers to look at their points and advise us as to whether we should make any changes.

“The PSPO has been in preparation for a long time and the legal issues have been examined by our lawyers in great detail.”

In documents seen by the Oxford Mail, Liberty lawyers Jason Coppel QC and Deok Joo Rhee claimed the proposed PSPO was unlawful on a number of human rights and common law grounds.

The lawyers told the city council it had not satisfied statutory conditions for a PSPO and alleged it had not complied with its duties under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

They added restrictions on persistent begging, remaining in public toilets and breaches of the busking code of conduct could constitute “disproportionate interference with a range of fundamental rights protected under the Human Rights Act 1998 and at common law and irrationality”.

They added: “Our conclusion is that there is a strong case that the draft PSPO would if adopted be unlawful.”

It is the first time the organisation has directly intervened in plans put forward by a council for such an order and it has vowed to take legal action if it is approved in its current form.

Liberty legal officer Rosie Brighouse said: “Oxford City Council should focus on finding ways to help the most vulnerable people in their city, not slapping them with a criminal record and a fine they can’t possibly afford to pay.”

The proposed PSPO has also faced sharp criticism from homeless support groups in the city, who called on a distinction to be made between persistent begging and “persistent and aggressive begging”.

But council officers have insisted that this would create “loopholes”, with Richard Adams, environmental protection service manager, telling councillors last week: “If you want to earn a living from begging, you could just be polite.”