Day of protest Police may be overwhelmed by campaigners testing them with placards

Protesters calling for the ban on Palestine Action to be lifted are planning to stage a demonstration in London on Saturday that could result in hundreds being arrested.

- Ben Quinn

The Metropolitan police have warned that anyone showing support for the group, which was banned under terrorism laws on 5 July, will be arrested.

Who is behind the protest? The organisers are a group called Defend Our Juries, which was set up in March 2023 to campaign on behalf of a woman who stood outside a climate activist trial holding a placard about jury rights.

Trudi Warner was arrested after holding a sign saying: "Jurors have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience."

The group has also been involved in supporting Just Stop Oil activists, drawing attention to what it describes as a "constitutional crisis" in courts as climate activists say new restrictions prevent them explaining their motivations to juries in England and Wales.

Among those involved in Defend Our Juries is Tim Crossland, a former government lawyer who held senior roles at organisations including the National Crime Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency, where he was a deputy director.

He was disbarred in 2023 following being fined £5,000 for criminal contempt of court in 2021 after deliberately making public a supreme court ruling related to Heathrow airport before the result was officially announced.