More than 20 arrested at peaceful Palestine Action protest after ban on group

More than 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences at a Palestine Action protest, hours after the group were officially proscribed by the government.

- HOLLY EVANS

A mass of Metropolitan Police officers circled dozens of protesters standing silently beneath the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square.

Labour MP Clive Lewis pointed to the location of the arrests and the fact that those arrested included “a priest, a professor, medics”. “This is not about terrorism. It’s about silencing dissent — and it’s leading us down an ever-darkening path,” Mr Lewis wrote on X (Twitter).

The protesters were holding placards that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Occasional chants of “Free Palestine” broke out from the surrounding onlookers, and some criticised the police presence.

The arrests came hours after Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday, which sought to stop the protest group from being banned. The move was confirmed less than two hours before the new legislation came into force at midnight.

The designation as a terror group means that membership of or support for Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The protest started at about 1.10pm and officers were seen taking people away shortly after 1.30pm. An elderly woman in a dog collar, who was sitting in a camp chair with one of the placards at her feet, appeared to be taken away by officers.

A woman seen lying on the floor in handcuffs was carried away in the air by officers and put in a police van.

While suspended and flanked by a large group of police, she said calmly: “Free Palestine, stop the genocide, I oppose genocide, I support the rights of the Palestinian people, I support freedom of speech, I support freedom of assembly.”

A mass of people crowded around to film the scene.