More than 100 arrested under Terrorism Act for protesting against proscription of Palestine Action
More than 100 people protesting against the proscription of Palestine Action have been arrested at demonstrations across the UK.
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Demonstrations were held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro on Saturday as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries.
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.
Images and videos show many older people being arrested.
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.
The force said a further nine 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.
Saturday’s arrests bring the total number of people arrested since the ban on Palestine Action came into force to more than 200, with more than 72 arrested across the UK last weekend and 29 the week before.
There have been several other arrests at protests across the country. Greater Manchester Police, for example, said it arrested 16 people on Saturday on suspicion of support of a proscribed organisation, adding that they remained in custody for questioning.
ARREST UPDATE: 55 people were arrested in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action which is a proscribed group.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) July 19, 2025
They were arrested under Sec 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
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."
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".
Read more: ‘We are all Palestine Action’: Starmer represented me at the ECHR… Now he’d see me as a terrorist
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 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".