At least 63 arrests at Palestine Action ban protests across UK
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Ninety-six arrests at Palestine Action ban protests across UK
Ninety-six arrests at Palestine Action ban protests across the UK. Met Police said 55 people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. Police made more than 50 arrests in Parliament Square in central London. The government proscribed the group earlier this month under the Terrorism Act of 2000, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence. Some were led away while others had to be carried by officers.
6 minutes ago Share Save Alex Boyd & Ewan Somerville BBC News Nick Johnson BBC News, reporting from Westminster Share Save
BBC Police made more than 50 arrests in Parliament Square in central London
Nearly 100 people have been arrested at protests across the UK against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terror group. Demonstrations in support of the pro-Palestine activist group took place in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol and Truro on Saturday. The Met Police said 55 people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action, at the largest of the demonstrations in Westminster. The government proscribed the group earlier this month under the Terrorism Act of 2000, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence, following a break-in at an RAF base.
Across the country, protesters held placards with the words: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” In London, arrests were made near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, where as many as 20 police vans attended. Officers moved in swiftly to arrest those holding the placards, many of whom appeared to be over the age of 60. One woman claimed to be in her 80s and was walking with a stick. Some were led away while others had to be carried. Avon and Somerset Police said 17 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act after a demonstration on College Green in Bristol. It said a further three people would be invited to attend a voluntary interview at a future date. Devon and Cornwall Police said two men and six women were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after protesters gathered near Truro Cathedral. The force said around 30 people were involved in the peaceful demonstration, organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries. Earlier, the campaign group said that one of those arrested near the cathedral was an 81-year-old former magistrate.
EPA Some demonstrators in London were led away while others had to be carried by officers
Dozens of Palestine Action protesters arrested across UK
Demonstrations were held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro. 55 people were arrested in Parliament Square under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action. A further eight were arrested for supporting Palestine Action within a separate large-scale march to Whitehall on Saturday by the Palestine Coalition. Officers confiscated the placards and searched the bags of those arrested, with some protesters being carried away by police while others were led away in handcuffs. It comes ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which the co-founder of Palestine. Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for the green light to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws. The Metropolitan Police said: “Officers engaged with protesters on College Green, explaining that the recent proscription of the Palestine Action group by the Government made it a criminal offence to express support for it’“Eight people, two men and six women, were arrested. They remain in police custody.”
Protesters wrote the message “I oppose genocide I support Palestine Action” on placards before being surrounded by police officers at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, London.
Officers confiscated the placards and searched the bags of those arrested, with some protesters being carried away by police while others were led away in handcuffs.
The Metropolitan Police said 55 people were arrested in Parliament Square under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action.
Metropolitan Police officers remove a person from a protest in Parliament Square (Yui Mok/PA)
The force said a further eight people were arrested for supporting Palestine Action within a separate large-scale march to Whitehall on Saturday by the Palestine Coalition.
It added that one person was arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence at the march and another person was arrested for breaching Public Order Act conditions.
Greater Manchester Police said it arrested 16 people on suspicion of support of a proscribed organisation, adding that they remained in custody for questioning.
Avon and Somerset Police said 17 people were arrested during a protest in Bristol.
The force added: “Officers engaged with protesters on College Green, explaining that the recent proscription of the Palestine Action group by the Government made it a criminal offence to express support for it under the Terrorism Act 2000.
“Seventeen people were arrested under Section 13 of the act and several placards were seized.
“A further three people will be invited to attend a voluntary interview at a future date.
“We will always aim to enable peaceful protest, however where criminal offences are committed, including those related to proscribed groups, we will intervene.”
Eight people were arrested near Truro Cathedral in Cornwall after protesters gathered to show support for Palestine Action.
Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement that around 30 protesters were involved in the “peaceful” Defend Our Juries demonstration.
The force went on: “A number of placards which were contrary to the law remained on display despite police advice.
“Eight people, two men and six women, were arrested on suspicion of offences under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. They remain in police custody.”
A woman who was detained by police in Parliament Square said: “We demand that Palestine Action is de-proscribed.
“Our government is not only arming a genocide, they are using terrorism laws to silence people who speak out.
“Palestine Action are campaigning for peace. They are dismantling weapons factories.”
As he was carried away by police, a protester in London said: “Freedom of speech is dead in this country, shame on the Metropolitan Police.”
🧵 | Updates on today’s public order policing operation in central London will be posted on this thread. Details of the conditions in place and the law on expressing support for proscribed organisations can be found at the link below. https://t.co/4xyECSyliy — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) July 19, 2025
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said: “Just a few weeks ago, being arrested under the Terrorism Act was the stuff of nightmares.
“Now it’s a badge of honour that people are wearing with pride – the mark of resistance to genocide and standing firm for our democratic freedoms.”
A small number of counter-protesters in Parliament Square held up placards which said “there is no genocide but there are 50 hostages still captive”.
It comes ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which the co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for the green light to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws.
The ban means that membership of, or support for, the direct action group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000.
The Metropolitan Police said 70 people were arrested at similar demonstrations in Parliament Square over the past two weekends.
The move to ban the organisation came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused about £7 million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action three days later, saying that the vandalism of the planes was “disgraceful” and the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.
Scots planning Palestine Action demo to break the law in support of banned group
Scots planning Palestine Action demo to break the law in support of banned group.Palestine Action was banned after members broke into defence factories in Glasgow and RAF bases in England. Activists plan to hold placards with the same slogan that was allegedly printed on the t-shirt of a man arrested near to the TRNSMT festival last weekend. The terror group designation for Palestine Action means that membership of or support for the group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. One activist said: “This peaceful protest at Mandela Place in Glasgow on Friday is a call to stop the genocide in Gaza and calling for the de-proscription of Palestine Action, as it was a legitimate non-violent protest organisation and not a terrorist group” The planned action in Glasgow comes after groups of protesters opposing the proscribed group were removed by police in London last week.
Palestine Action was banned after members broke into defence factories in Glasgow and RAF bases in England.
Palestine Action faces a legal crackdown (Image: PA Wire )
Activists are planning to break the law in Glasgow tomorrow to show their support for the banned Palestine Action group.
The Record understands a small rally is planned for Nelson Mandela Place in the city centre at noon to protest what one described as the UK sliding into a “police state”.
Activists plan to hold placards with the same slogan that was allegedly printed on the t-shirt of a man arrested near to the TRNSMT festival last weekend. The 55-year-old activist had allegedly been leafleting near Glasgow Green when police stopped him.
He was also alleged to be wearing a T-shirt from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) which read: “Genocide in Palestine. Time to take action.”
The terror group designation for Palestine Action, brought in by the Labour UK Government, means that membership of or support for the group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
One activist told the Record: “This peaceful protest at Mandela Place in Glasgow on Friday is a call to stop the genocide in Gaza and calling for the de-proscription of Palestine Action, as it was a legitimate non-violent protest organisation and not a terrorist group.
“Britain is on the slippery slope to becoming a police state where we will end up seeing other legitimate democratic protest groups being proscribed as being terrorists.
“We are standing up against the one sided slaughter in Gaza and also standing up for our hard won civil liberties which includes the democratic right to protest.”
The planned action in Glasgow comes after groups of protesters opposing the proscription of Palestine Action were removed by police in London last week.
Two small groups of protesters sat at the steps of both the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela statues in Parliament Square for the demonstration, organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries, shortly after 1pm, and received a brief round of applause.
The individuals then wrote the message “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” with black markers on pieces of cardboard, and silently held the signs aloft, surrounded by Metropolitan Police officers, who formed a cordon around the Gandhi statue, and members of the media.
The protesters were then led or carried away from the statues by officers into waiting police vans parked around the square.
The force said 46 people had been arrested. Police arrested 29 people at a similar protest in Parliament Square last weekend.
The crackdown against Palestine Action came after six people were arrested on suspicion of a terror offence after the group shared footage online earlier this month of RAF planes being spray-painted at a military base in Oxfordshire.
The group previously broke into a Thales defence factory in Glasgow in 2022, causing £1,130,783 in damages using pyrotechnics and smoke bombs.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said Palestine Action had a “long history” of criminal damage, and since 2024 “its activity has increased in frequency and severity”.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, previously told the Record he backed Cooper’s tough stance against the group.
“There are so many phenomenal pro-Palestinian organisations who do not fall for acts of vandalism, or attacks on our defence infrastructure, or who fall into prejudice and hate, but who rightly speak out against violence and for peace – not just peace abroad, but peace and security here at home too,” he said.
Article continues below
“Those people who use the name of Palestine to do such horrific actions should face the full force of the law. So I do support the actions of the Home Secretary.
“Those people do not speak for Palestine or for peace. They are spoilers, who are hijacking their cause for their own end.”