At least 532 people arrested at London protests against ban on Palestine Action

Hundreds of protesters have been arrested by police in London on Saturday for supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action and assaults, as ITV News' Graham Stothard has the latest

The total number of people arrested for supporting Palestine Action in central London is 522, the Metropolitan Police said.

Hundreds attended Saturday’s demonstration in Parliament Square, organised by Defend Our Juries.

One arrest took place at the form up of the Palestine Coalition march in Russell Square with the remaining 521 arrested at the protest in Parliament Square.

There was a further ten arrests, six for assault on officers, one for obstructing a constable executing their duty, two for breaching the Public Order act and one for a racially aggravated public order offence, the police said.

The average age of those who were arrested was 54 years old.

Every person arrested at the banned Palestine Action protest in Parliament Square on Saturday has now been released from police custody, organiser Defend Our Juries said.

In a post on X, the campaign group said that none of the individuals had been charged.

Charity Amnesty International UK said the arrests at the protest on Saturday were "deeply concerning".

The force said the detained protesters were taken to one of two prisoner processing points in the Westminster area, and those whose details could be confirmed were bailed, with conditions not to attend any further protest in support of Palestine Action.

The Met said it was also aware of footage online suggesting some people returned to the protest in Parliament Square after being released on bail.

"Given the numbers of people arrested yesterday it would have been entirely unrealistic for officers to recognise individuals who returned to the area," the Met said.

"Their focus was rightly on those continuing to commit offences who were still to be arrested. We are as confident as we can be that none of those who returned to Parliament Square re-joined the protesters who were holding placards."

The crowd, sitting on the grass inside Parliament Square, could be seen writing “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” on white placards, with the vast majority remaining silent.

Several demonstrators carrying placards that read “Palestine Action terrorises Britain while Hamas hides in hospitals, schools and mosques”, briefly walked along the crowd before being led away by police officers.

Officers were holding individual demonstrators who sat on the edge of the grass before escorting them through swelling crowds to police vans parked on the edge of the square.

Defend Our Juries, which organised the demonstration, said between 600 and 700 people were in Parliament Square on Saturday afternoon.

The group claimed the police were preparing for “the largest mass arrest in their history” after expecting a turnout of “in the low hundreds”.

The Metropolitan Police said: “That claim simply isn’t true.

“We estimate there were around 500 to 600 people in Parliament Square when the protest began, but many were onlookers, media people or people not holding placards in support of Palestine Action.

“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested.”

Police said it has drawn officers in from other forces to help form a “significant policing presence” in the capital as it faces a busy weekend of protests.

The ban on Palestine Action means that being a member or supporter of the group is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2000.

This all comes days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group in England and Wales were named as Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, also 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53.

Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said: “Today’s mass arrests of peaceful protesters under UK terrorism law are deeply concerning.

“Peaceful protest is a fundamental right. People are understandably outraged by the ongoing genocide being committed in Gaza and are entitled under international human rights law to express their horror.

“The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.

“We have long criticised UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded and a threat to freedom of expression. These arrests demonstrate that our concerns were justified.

“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the Government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”

More than 200 people have been arrested in the wave of Defend Our Juries protests across the UK since the ban was implemented by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last month.

The Home Secretary thanked the police for facilitating a peaceful protest on Saturday, saying a “very small number of people…crossed the line into criminality”.

Yvette Cooper said: “Tens of thousands of people marched in London today to protest in support of Palestinian rights, working with the police to carry out their demonstration largely without incident.

“This will have been replicated in many other parts of the country too. We thank the police for their work in dealing with the very small number of people whose actions crossed the line into criminality."

She added: “The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.

“Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.

“It also follows an assessment from the Joint Terrorism Assessment Centre that the group prepares for terrorism, as well as concerning information referencing plans and ideas for further attacks, the details of which cannot yet be publicly reported due to ongoing legal proceedings.

“Many people may not yet know the reality of this organisation, but the assessments are very clear, this is not a non-violent organisation. UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority.

“Their actions are not about the horrific suffering in the Middle East and do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who are exercising their rights to protest peacefully.

“I would like to thank the police in London and across the country for their work to facilitate peaceful attendance at protests large and small today and officers’ continued dedication in responding to support for a proscribed organisation.”

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