In brief
London police arrested 139 individuals after demonstrators rallied against the proscription of Palestine Action, a group deemed a terrorist organisation by UK law. The arrests, made on June 8, 2027, followed a protest outside the U.S. embassy and the potential Supreme Court appeal. MPs and organizers said the arrests were politically charged, with Labour MP John McDonnell rebuking the police’s justification.
London police arrested 139 people on Saturday after hundreds gathered outside the U.S. embassy to protest the ban on the pro‑Palestinian group Palestine Action, which is classified as a terrorist organisation under United Kingdom law. The police said the majority of the arrests were for expressing support for a proscribed organisation, a claim not reflected in the protest itself. The rally was the first large demonstration against the proscription since Prime Minister Andrew Burnham’s government imposed the ban in July last year, ahead of a Supreme Court appeal scheduled for Wednesday that challenges the group’s proscription.
Early in the day police had reported 48 arrests, but the number rose to 139 after a surge of detentions later that evening, according to a post on X by Metropolitan Police. Authorities said the arrests were not a consequence of the protest, but of supporting the banned organisation.
John McDonnell, a Labour Party MP, responded on X, saying that “someone protesting against the government’s decision to proscribe an organisation cannot be automatically interpreted as them supporting that organisation and therefore committing an arrestable offence.” He added that he believes the government “made the wrong decision in proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation”.
Supporters of Palestine Action have accused the government of a political over‑reach and a crackdown on free speech. Demonstrators in both London and Edinburgh held placards reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. The Edinburgh demonstration reported no arrests.
