Protester dons satirical T-shirt to 'avoid arrest' at Palestine Action demo

NEARLY 900 OTHERS WERE HELD BY POLICE IN LONDON

- Steve Bagnall

A PROTESTER from North Wales wore a unique T-shirt in a bid to avoid arrest during a central London rally on Saturday against the proscription of Palestine Action as a terror group.

Franco Ferrer, 69, from Llanberis in Gwynedd, wore a “Plasticine Action” T-shirt - a satirical play on the banned group, which drew headlines last month when another demonstrator was mistakenly arrested for it, reports PA.

Mr Ferrer said police had been photographing him from when he arrived.

He told PA: “Maybe they can’t read. ‘The T-shirt is an effective way of getting the message across without risking arrest.

“I won't write a sign because I don’t think I have the courage to do that. I've come to support the action because the Government banning a protest group by using terror laws is outrageous. It’s silencing free speech.”

Almost 900 demonstrators were arrested at a rally protesting against the banning of Palestine Action as a terror group, the Metropolitan Police has said.

An estimated 1,500 took part in the protest in Parliament Square, Westminster, on Saturday and the force condemned the “intolerable” abuse it claims its officers suffered.

But organisers, campaign group Defend Our Juries (DOJ), insisted the rally was “the picture of peaceful protest’, with attendees sitting and holding signs and called on new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to drop the “unenforceable” ban.