Woman, 74, left 'shaken' by arrest at pro-Palestine protest

A 74-year-old woman said yesterday she was left "shaken and frightened" after being arrested at a pro-Palestine rally under terrorism laws in what she called an attempt to restrict freedom of speech.

- Josh Halliday

Audrey White, from Liverpool, was among at least 100 people detained across the UK at the weekend on suspicion of supporting the recently proscribed group Palestine Action.

White was holding up a sign before she was surrounded by officers in Liverpool city centre on Sunday. Video shows four police officers detaining the veteran campaigner on the ground to chants of "shame on you" and "let her go". One protester shouts: "Britain is a fascist state."

The officers then drag White across the pavement before handcuffing her as she lies prone on the ground. It then shows her being carried to a van to be taken to a police station where she spent nearly eight hours.

"I'm very sore, very shaken, very emotional and I'm frightened, to be honest," White said.

Demonstrations were held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro over the weekend as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries. The Liverpool rally was held by Liverpool Friends of Palestine.