London Police Arrest 523 at Palestine Action Protest Under Ban a Court Ruled Unlawful

Metropolitan Police officers arrested 523 people at Trafalgar Square on Saturday after more than a thousand demonstrators gathered for a sit-in organized by the Defend Our Juries campaign. Those arrested ranged in age from 18 to 87, and their alleged offense was holding placards reading "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."

The arrests were made under the Terrorism Act 2000, which makes expressing support for a proscribed organization punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The legal basis is contested: on February 13, the High Court ruled the Home Secretary's decision to proscribe Palestine Action was unlawful and disproportionate.

The Ban and the Ruling

Palestine Action, an activist group founded in 2020 that targets Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems' UK operations, was designated a terrorist organization on July 5, 2025, when the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025 came into force. The order placed Palestine Action alongside al-Qaeda and ISIS on the UK's list of banned organizations.

Huda Ammori, one of Palestine Action's co-founders, challenged the proscription in court. On February 13, a three-judge panel of the High Court -- led by Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the King's Bench Division -- found the ban unlawful on multiple grounds:

• The Home Secretary failed to give Palestine Action the opportunity to make representations before proscription
• The decision failed to have regard to relevant considerations
• The proscription breached rights of freedom of expression and assembly protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights
• The Home Secretary acted in breach of her own policy on when to exercise the power to proscribe

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood immediately appealed. The ban remains in force pending the appeal, and the Met Police -- which briefly halted arrests after the judgment -- resumed enforcement once leave to appeal was granted in late February.

3,300 Arrests and Counting

Saturday's 523 arrests bring the total since the July 2025 ban to approximately 3,300. More than 500 people have been charged under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act. In September 2025 alone, a single protest at Parliament Square resulted in more than 890 arrests.

A judge has suspended all trials of those charged with supporting Palestine Action, scheduling a review for July 30 -- effectively acknowledging the legal uncertainty created by the High Court ruling and the pending appeal.

Amnesty International Condemns Arrests

Amnesty International UK called the arrests "yet another blow to civil liberties in this country." Tom Southerden, the organization's Law and Human Rights Director, said the Met had "gone back to its old, failed policy -- mass arrests of people holding pieces of card, including today an elderly woman with walking sticks."

The Defend Our Juries campaign, which organized Saturday's protest, said: "This government can ban groups and arrest citizens, but it cannot ban conscience. We will keep coming back -- everyone, every time -- until justice prevails."

Commander Claire Smart of the Metropolitan Police, in a statement issued the day before the protest, warned: "We are preparing for another busy weekend where we anticipate policing a large-scale event that is expected to involve criminal offences." She added: "An arrest and criminal record can have serious and lasting effects."