139 arrested at London protest against Palestine Action ban

The Metropolitan Police said 139 people had been arrested at a protest outside the US embassy in London against the UK government’s ban on Palestine Action. The demonstration was the largest reported mass gathering under Andy Burnham’s premiership opposing the group’s proscription, according to The Guardian. Hundreds of people gathered outside the embassy in Battersea carrying signs including “I oppose genocide.

I support Palestine Action.” The Guardian reported that the protest was organised by Defend Our Juries, which estimated that about 400 people attended. Al Jazeera’s report also described hundreds of protesters outside the embassy, but did not provide an arrest figure. The Metropolitan Police had warned before the demonstration that people taking part could face arrest.

Commander Adam Slonecki, who led the operation, said those attending understood that supporting a proscribed organisation was unlawful and characterised the gathering as an intentional meeting to commit a crime. Police also warned that organisers, people giving instructions and those providing logistical support could be committing an offence. In a statement on X, the Met said 139 people had been arrested and that officers remained at the scene.

Defend Our Juries criticised what it called an overzealous response, saying the policing operation exposed how far UK authorities would go to avoid embarrassing the United States. The group said the protest was also aimed at opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza and the UK’s alleged role in supplying weapons. Some demonstrators described the action as a matter of principle.

The Guardian quoted 79-year-old retiree Sue Morhall, who said she believed US leaders needed to understand opposition to what was happening in Gaza. The Reverend Bill White, 72, said he believed criminalising people trying to prevent genocide was wrong. Both were reported as holding signs supporting Palestine Action.

A vigil supporting the group also took place outside the US consulate in Edinburgh, according to The Guardian. The demonstrations came before an appeal at the UK Supreme Court on November 4 against Palestine Action’s designation as a terrorist organisation. The government has faced pressure to withdraw the ban, but Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has continued to support the proscription.

Defend Our Juries said more than 4,000 arrests had been made for supporting Palestine Action since the ban came into effect, representing most terror-related arrests since last July. That figure was attributed to the group rather than independently confirmed in the supplied report. The Guardian also reported that more than 160 people were arrested or reported for summons at a similar protest outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last month.

The protest follows a wider political and cultural dispute over the ban. The Guardian reported that author and journalist Sarah Helm was accused of supporting Palestine Action after posting on X, although the Met later assessed that her post did not meet the criminal threshold. The Irish author Sally Rooney was also reported as unable to sell her books in the UK because of her support for the group.

The supplied reports do not state how many of those arrested in London had been charged or what penalties they might face.