A Protester is pictured in handcuffs through a police officers legs before being carried away after being arrested as people gather in support of the pro-palestinian group "Palestine Action", in Parliament Square, London on July 12, 2025, following the Home Secretary's decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws. (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP)
London: Police in London arrested dozens of protesters on a second successive Saturday for supporting Palestine Action, campaigners said, a week after the UK government banned the activist group under anti-terror laws.
Campaign group Defend Our Juries, which had announced it would hold rallies Saturday in several UK cities "to defy" the ban, said police in the UK capital had arrested "more than 40 people" and criticised the response.
"The Metropolitan Police were out in force again today, arresting more than 40 people in Parliament Square for holding signs opposed to genocide and supporting Palestine Action," a spokesperson told AFP.
"Who do the police think they are serving in this?" the spokesperson added, calling the ban "Orwellian".
Footage showed police moving in on a small group of protesters displaying signs supporting Palestine Action who had gathered at the steps of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square.
Those detained did not appear to put up any resistance.
The Met confirmed on X that its officers were "in the process of making arrests" after "responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action".
Britain's Press Association (PA) news agency reported an officer at the scene stating that 46 people had been held for offences mainly related to a section of the Terrorism Act.
It comes a week after the arrest of 29 people, including a priest and a number of health professionals, for offences under the same law.
Police have warned since the ban kicked in on July 5 that expressing support for Palestine Action was now a crime.
"It is a criminal offence to invite or express support for a proscribed organisation," the Met said on X ahead of Saturday's planned protests.
"As we saw last week, those who do breach the law will face action."
Palestine Action's proscription cleared parliament in the first days of July, and a last-ditch High Court challenge failed to stop it becoming law.
The government announced plans for the ban under the Terrorism Act 2000 days after the group's activists claimed to be behind a break-in at an air force base in southern England.
Two aircraft there were sprayed with red paint, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.55 million) in damage.
Four people charged in relation to the incident remain in custody.
Palestine Action has condemned the proscription -- which makes it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison -- as an attack on free speech.
