Seven charged after Palestine Action supporters clash with police against government ban under anti-terror laws

24 June 2025, 19:46 | Updated: 24 June 2025, 19:47

Seven protesters in support of Palestine Action have been charged after clashing with police as the government moves to ban the civil disobedience group.

Hundreds of protesters waving Palestinian flags gathered in Trafalgar Square on Monday to protest the government's plans to ban the group under anti-terror laws.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the decision to ban Palestine Action later that afternoon, which will make it illegal to be a member of the group.

Many have criticised the drastic measure, claiming it violates the right to protest and free speech.

The protest, which started relatively peacefully, quickly turned chaotic when police stormed into the crowd and detained a number of protesters, after one of them allegedly pushed a police officer.

Seven people have now been charged by police, after 13 arrests were made in total.

A police statement reads: "Of those 13 [arrested protesters], seven have now been charged with one cautioned and the remainder either bailed or released under investigation to allow further enquiries to take place."

One protester was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence, three with assaulting an emergency worker, and another three with breaching protest conditions. Another protester was cautioned for assaulting an emergency worker.

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Palestinian Action Protesters gather in Trafalgar Square

Palestinian Action Protesters gather in Trafalgar Square

The protest on Monday began peacefully but quickly turned chaotic, after it was moved at the last minute when the police banned it from taking place in Parliament Square, where it was originally scheduled to take place.

It saw officers surrounded by loud protesters chanting "let them go", referring to protesters the police tried to detain and drag out of the crowd, and "shame on you", as well as "we are all Palestine Action".

Protesters claimed on social media that the police instigated the clashes by rushing into the crowd and beginning to push, punch, choke and detain protesters "for no reason".

People carried signs, including one which read: “Proscribe the real terrorists in the UK government. Hands off Pal Action!”

The protesters chanted “We are all Palestine Action”, and “Free, free Palestine. End, end apartheid. End the genocide."

Tensions flared as hundreds of supports and dozens of police officers descended on the area, and protesters blocked surrounding roads.

Trafalgar Square was more cramped than usual as workers were taking down a stage and fences that were set up for West End Live, causing protesters to gather in one small corner and spilling out into the roads.

It comes after a counter-terror investigation was launched after two activists from the group broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged military aircraft in a high-profile security breach at the UK’s largest airbase last week.

Palestinian Action Protesters gather in Trafalgar Square

Video footage posted online shows the pair riding electric scooters across the runway before targeting two Airbus Voyager aircraft – spraying red paint into their engines using repurposed fire extinguishers. Crowbars were also used to cause further damage to the planes.

Palestine Action says it was a direct intervention to halt British support for Israel, claiming the UK is “an active participant” in the “genocide” in Gaza.

The group said: “Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli jets. By decommissioning two military planes, we’ve broken the chains of oppression.”

The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.

Palestine Action has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.

Pro-Palestine protesters ‘damage RAF planes at Brize Norton’

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley backed the Home Secretary's move to proscribe the group.

The Policing Chief described Palestine Action as an "organised extremist group" the day after Yvette Cooper confirmed the government's plans to ban it.

"I know people talk about it as Direct Action protest but it is a euphemism for criminality," he added on LBC show Nick Ferrari At Breakfast.

Sir Mark said Palestine Action was responsible for assaulting officers and committing "mass amounts" of criminal damage.

Former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf agreed that some of their actions might be unlawful, but said banning the group is "a shameful and dangerous misuse of anti-terror legislation by the UK Government."

"Regardless of whether you agree with their tactics, one thing is clear: Palestine Action are very obviously not a terrorist organisation," he wrote for LBC Opinion.

Referring to their break-in at Brize Norton, he added: "You may support that kind of protest, or you may find it counterproductive or even oppose it robustly. That’s a legitimate debate.

"But to suggest that this kind of action constitutes terrorism? That’s an insult to our intelligence and a grave distortion, and abuse, of laws designed to keep us safe from the violent activities of genuine terrorists."

The former SNP leader added: "This move by the UK Government is not about protecting the public, it’s about punishing political protest. It’s about silencing those who are calling out Britain’s complicity in war crimes. It is a threat not just to Palestine Action, but to every citizen who believes in our rights and freedoms."

A spokesperson for Palestine Action previously accused the UK of failing to meet its obligation to prevent or punish genocide.

Palestine Action explains reason behind RAF base break-in

The spokesperson said: “When our Government fails to uphold their moral and legal obligations, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to take direct action. The terrorists are the ones committing a genocide, not those who break the tools used to commit it.”

The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is “concerned in terrorism”.

Proscription will require Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.

Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company the Wagner Group.

Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.