At least 200 arrested as hundreds gather in Parliament Square to protest Palestine Action ban
Police have arrested at least 200 people for supporting Palestine Action as "hundreds" gathered in Parliament Square to protest the group's proscription.
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In a post shared to X, the Metropolitan Police said in an arrest update: "As of 6pm, 365 people had been arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation.
"There have been seven arrests for other offences including five for assaults on officers. Fortunately none were seriously injured."
Metropolitan Police officers began arresting protesters in Parliament Square after they brandished placards reading: "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."
Supporting a proscribed group is a terror offence in the UK.
Clusters of officers could be seen holding individual protesters sat on the edge of the grass and escorting them through swelling crowds to police vans on the edge of the square.
Arrest update: The operation in Parliament Square continues.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 9, 2025
As of 6pm, 365 people had been arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation.
There have been seven arrests for other offences including five for assaults on officers. Fortunately none were seriously injured.
A separate group of officers could be seen attending to a protester lying next to the fenced-off Emmeline Pankhurst statue.
The main, larger group of protesters in the middle of the central London square remained sat quietly holding their placards.
Taking to X, the Metropolitan Police said: "Arrest update: We’ve now made more than 50 arrests in Parliament Square and our interventions continue.
"We have significant resources deployed to this operation. It will take time but we will arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action."
Defend Our Juries said between 600 and 700 people were participating in the protest supporting the banned Palestine Action in Parliament Square.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Secretary has been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action is not about Palestine, nor does it affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights.
“It only applies to the specific and narrow organisation whose activities do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on different issues.
“Freedom to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy and we protect it fiercely.
“The decision to proscribe was based on strong security advice and the unanimous recommendation by the expert cross-government proscription review group.
“This followed serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.
“It also followed an assessment from the joint terrorism assessment centre that Palestine Action prepares for terrorism, as well as worrying information referencing plans and ideas for further attacks, the details of which cannot yet be publicly reported due to ongoing legal proceedings.”
One person has also been arrested for supporting the proscribed group at a separate protest in London and four others were detained for assaults on officers.
Earlier this week, the first three people to be charged with supporting Palestine Action in England and Wales were named.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53, have all been charged with displaying an article in a public place, arousing reasonable suspicion that they are a supporter of a proscribed organisation after their attendance at a previous demonstration last month.
Hundreds have been arrested in the wave of Defend Our Juries protests across the UK since the ban was implemented by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last month.