Palestine Action Rev Sue, 83, arrested for showing support

An 83-year-old vicar from Bristol was arrested during a protest in central London on Saturday to show support for the now proscribed group Palestine Action.

- Kate WILSON

The Metropolitan Police posted on X on Saturday afternoon saying officers were responding to the demonstration in Parliament Square and making arrests.

The protest started at about 1.10pm and officers were seen taking people away shortly after 1.30pm.

Rev Sue Parfitt, 83, from Henbury, who was sat in a camp chair with a placard at her feet, was seen being taken away by officers.

A woman seen lying on the ground in handcuffs was lifted by officers and put in a police van. While 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."

Several people crowded around to film the arrest as officers placed the woman in the vehicle parked on the road behind the square, before returning to the Mahatma Gandhi statue, where almost no protesters remained. Chants of "shame" broke out, directed at the police, most of whom had dispersed by 2.10pm.