Met Police Resumes Arresting Palestine Action Supporters

The Metropolitan Police has reversed course and will once again arrest people who publicly support Palestine Action, weeks after indicating it would hold back from doing so following a High Court ruling that the group's proscription was unlawful.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman announced the change on Thursday, saying that the force had reviewed its position after the High Court granted the Home Secretary permission to appeal and confirmed that the ban would remain in place while the appeal process plays out. 

"While the High Court has found the proscription of Palestine Action to be unlawful, it has confirmed the impact of that judgment will not take effect until the government's appeal has been considered, which could take many months," Harman said. "That means it is still a criminal offence to support Palestine Action. We must enforce the law as it is at the time, not as it might be at a future date. We must do that consistently and without fear or favour."

Palestine Action was banned by the then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last June under the Terrorism Act 2000, placing the group in the same legal category as al-Qaeda and ISIL. The decision came shortly after activists broke into an RAF base in Oxfordshire and sprayed red paint on military aircraft. The proscription made it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, and was punishable by up to 14 years in prison. More than 2,700 people have since been arrested for allegedly displaying support, including peaceful protesters holding placards at mass rallies reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."

In February, three senior High Court judges ruled that the designation of Palestine Action was unlawful and disproportionate, finding that while Palestine Action had used criminal acts to promote its aims, its actions had not crossed the threshold required to classify it as a terrorist organisation. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was "disappointed" and immediately announced plans to appeal the decision.

Following that February ruling, the Met had adopted what it described as an "interim position", where officers would gather evidence but arrests were considered unlikely. Harman explained the reasoning at the time: as the judgment was being delivered, protesters outside the court were already displaying support for the group, and it was not yet known whether permission to appeal would be granted or whether the proscription would be suspended immediately. "We needed to give our officers clear guidance in unusual circumstances," he said.

With the appeal now granted and the proscription confirmed as legally in force pending its outcome, the Met says it has no choice but to enforce the law. Hundreds of pending cases against protesters accused of holding up placards have been put on hold while the appeal proceeds, with Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ruling earlier this month that trials would be delayed until after the appeals court makes a ruling.

Human rights groups and critics have argued throughout the situation that proscribing Palestine Action represented a disproportionate crackdown on political dissent. The group was founded in July 2020 and has organised hundreds of protests across the UK, primarily targeting firms it accuses of profiting from Israeli military operations, with a focus on the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.