London: Nearly 900 arrested at protest for banned Palestine Action group

A total of 890 people were arrested in London during a protest this weekend in support of the banned group Palestine Action, the capital’s Metropolitan Police said Sunday.

The force said 857 people had been arrested under anti-terror laws for supporting a proscribed group during Saturday’s demonstration, with an additional 33 arrested for other offences including assaults on police officers.

“We have a duty to enforce the law without fear or favour. If you advertise that you are intending to commit a crime, we have no option but to respond accordingly,” deputy assistant commissioner Claire Smart said in a statement.

The rally came after Britain banned Palestine Action in July under the Terrorism Act, following incidents in which members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. Supporting or belonging to the group now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

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The Met said officers faced “an exceptional level of abuse” at the protest, including punches, kicks, spitting and objects being thrown. The force added that there had been “a coordinated effort to prevent officers carrying out their duties” and vowed that anyone who assaulted police would be prosecuted “to the full extent of the law.”

Defend Our Juries, which organised the rally, accused police of using violence, saying officers had “violently assault[ed] peaceful protesters including the elderly, in order to try and arrest over a thousand people for holding cardboard signs.” The group shared footage of an officer shoving an elderly demonstrator to the ground. A spokesperson said the ban was “impossible to enforce and a preposterous waste of resources,” adding that “resistance to this ridiculous ban keeps on growing exponentially.”

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The rally began at 1 pm with hundreds of mainly older protesters holding placards or papers in support of Palestine Action. Police began making arrests about 15 minutes later, removing demonstrators one by one as crowds shouted “shame on you” at officers. Many protesters followed organisers’ advice to go “floppy” to make arrests more difficult.

Those detained were taken to vans lined up along Millbank. It was not immediately clear how many refused to provide their names and addresses, which would result in them being kept in custody rather than bailed.