More than 100 arrested at London demo for banned Palestine Action group

At least 139 people were arrested during a demonstration outside the US embassy in Nine Elms, south-west London. Most arrests involved allegedly showing support for Palestine Action, which was proscribed in June 2025. The protest mattered because public support for the group is a crime under the Terrorism Act.

Defend Our Juries organised the event and asked protesters to hold signs saying, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. Officers began making arrests shortly after 12.30pm. Some protesters were carried away when they refused to walk. Others applauded or chanted “free Palestine” as people were taken to police vans.

The Metropolitan Police said 139 arrests had been made by 6.15pm, with more expected. Organisers had predicted at least 400 attendees. A Section 35 dispersal order also covered the embassy area from 8am to 11pm, allowing police to order people to leave or arrest them.

A proscribed organisation is one that has been formally banned under the Terrorism Act. In Palestine Action’s case, the group was proscribed in June 2025. The article explains that this makes any public display of support for the group a crime, even when the display occurs during a peaceful protest.

That rule was central to the arrests outside the US embassy. Defend Our Juries had encouraged people to hold signs reading, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. Police treated that public message as support for a proscribed organisation. Most of the 139 arrests were made on that basis.

The designation remains legally contested. The Court of Appeal said in June that the ban was a justified and proportionate interference with freedom of expression. Earlier, three High Court judges had ruled the decision unlawful. The Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal on November 4.

The Metropolitan Police said 139 people had been arrested by 6.15pm on Saturday. Most were detained for allegedly showing support for Palestine Action, which is a proscribed organisation. Police warned before the event that participants faced arrest during what they called a robust policing operation.

Defend Our Juries had expected at least 400 people to attend the demonstration. Using that estimate, the number arrested could represent at least a quarter of the expected crowd. Officers began arresting protesters individually shortly after 12.30pm, sometimes carrying people who refused to walk.

The final number could have been higher because police said further detentions were expected. The protest was held outside the US embassy in Nine Elms, and a Section 35 dispersal order covered the area until 11pm. The wider campaign has produced more than 4,000 detentions since July 2025, according to organisers.

The main legal consequence is arrest for publicly displaying support for Palestine Action. The group was proscribed in June 2025, and the article states that any public display of support for it constitutes a crime under the Terrorism Act. That applies to protest messages as well as other public displays.

At the embassy demonstration, Defend Our Juries urged people to hold signs saying, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. Police arrested 139 people by 6.15pm, mostly for showing support for the group. Some were carried to police vans when they refused to walk.

Police also used a Section 35 dispersal order covering the embassy grounds and parts of London. It allowed officers to order people to leave the area. Anyone who failed to comply could face arrest. The article does not specify the eventual charges or sentences for the detained protesters.

Defend Our Juries organised the demonstration ahead of a legal appeal over Palestine Action’s proscription. The group said the arrests showed the scale of restrictions created by the ban. It also described the protest as a response to what it called attacks on free speech and opposition to genocide.

The organisation’s signs invited people to say, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. Its spokesman said arrests since July 2025 had taken the total above 4,000. The protest took place outside the US embassy because Defend Our Juries said Washington had not shied away from participating in the Palestine conflict.

The Supreme Court appeal is scheduled for November 4. It challenges Palestine Action’s designation as a terror group. The Court of Appeal previously called the ban a justified and proportionate interference with freedom of expression, overturning a High Court ruling that had declared the decision unlawful.

A Section 35 dispersal order gives police power to direct people to leave a defined area. The Metropolitan Police said the order covering the embassy grounds and parts of London ran from 8am to 11pm on Saturday. It was introduced because police had information about a planned event supporting a proscribed organisation.

During the demonstration, officers could therefore require people to leave the covered area. The Met stated that people who failed to comply could face arrest. The order operated alongside the separate offence of publicly supporting Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act.

The order formed part of what police called a robust policing operation. Arrests began shortly after 12.30pm, and 139 people had been detained by 6.15pm. The Met said further detentions were expected. It also said Palestine Action-related protests used significant police resources that were needed in local neighbourhoods and communities.

The balance described in the article involves freedom of expression on one side and the government’s power to restrict support for a proscribed organisation on the other. Public support for Palestine Action is a crime because the group was banned under the Terrorism Act. Police enforced that rule at a protest about genocide and civil liberties.

The legal disagreement is clear. In June, five Court of Appeal judges said the ban was a justified and proportionate interference with freedom of expression rights. That decision overturned a February ruling by three High Court judges, who said the then-home secretary’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action was unlawful.

The dispute is not settled. The Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal on November 4 against the designation. Until then, the ban remains the basis for arrests, while groups such as Defend Our Juries continue to argue that it unlawfully restricts peaceful political expression.