Welsh language activism 'no different' to Palestine Action 'terrorism' ex police boss says
A retired police chief and former Welsh language campaigner has slammed the authorities for their approach to banned group Palestine Action. Arfon Jones drew parallels with historic Welsh language campaigns in which scores of activists were arrested for non-violent direct action.
Mr Jones, from Wrexham, said he was among those who, in the 1970s, campaigned for Welsh language rights as members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society). 'Some were imprisoned for their activities,' he said. 'None, however, were stigmatised by the British state as terrorists!'
On July 5, the UK Government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist group after members of the network damaged RAF aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Under the Terrorism Act of 2000, it made group membership a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Since then, police have arrested scores of people for showing support to Palestine Action. Last weekend alone, 474 people were arrested during a 'Lift the Ban' sit-in at Parliament Square (Saturday, August 9).
The demonstration had echoes of the first ever protest staged by Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg: in February 1963, members staged a sit-down blocking Pont Trefechan bridge, Aberystwyth.
From demanding the right to court summonses in Welsh, the society moved on to campaign successfully for bilingual road signs followed by action over holiday homes and Welsh language media.
Over the decades, more than 1,000 supporters of the society appeared before the courts, making it Britain's largest protest group since the Suffragettes. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
(Image: Geoff Charles/National Library of Wales/Wiki)
Some members were jailed but none were ever officially labelled terrorists by the government, said Mr Jones, a former Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales Police. He also served as an operational inspector at the force before retiring in 2008, and now describes himself as a "social issues commentator".
In a letter to the Daily Post he wrote: 'What language campaigners were doing in the 60s, 70s and 80s was no different to what Palestine Action was doing prior to it being proscribed for protesting against a genocide the British state is complicit in.
'Both were using non-violent, direct action against property, and proscription was unreasonable, unjustified and disproportionate.
'This comparison gives some indication of how far the British state has moved from a social democratic tolerant and progressive state in the 1970s, to a right-wing autocratic and oppressive state in 2025, where a Nazi salute is tolerated but protesting a genocide is not.
'The Home Secretary and the Police Service should hang their heads in shame for harassing and arresting honourable and principled individuals who are willing to sacrifice their freedom for the cause of humanity.'
The Home Office was approached for a response. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said many people were not aware of the 'reality' of Palestine Action's true purpose. In the wake of the ongoing Gaza war, the group has become more active but it insists its approach is "non-violent".
The Home Secretary said: '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.'
The National Police Chiefs' Council, and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, were also approached for a comment. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Find out what's happening near you
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
35 minutes ago
- Sky News
Sixty more people to be prosecuted for 'showing support' for proscribed Palestine Action, Met Police says
A further 60 people will be prosecuted for "showing support for the proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action", the Metropolitan Police has said. This follows the arrest of more than 700 people since the group was proscribed on 7 July, including 522 in central London during a protest last Saturday. Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, said: "The decisions that we have announced today are the first significant numbers to come out of the recent protests, and many more can be expected in the next few weeks. "We are ready to make swift decisions in all cases where arrests have been made." The Metropolitan Police said it has been working closely with Counter Terrorism Policing, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and the Attorney General's Office "to process the case files, with more prosecutions expected in the coming weeks". Palestine Action was proscribed in July after the group claimed responsibility for damage to jets at RAF Brize Norton and was also linked to "allegations of a serious assault on staff and police officers at a business premises in South Gloucestershire," Met Police said. "Proscription of Palestine Action made membership or support of it a criminal offence," the force said. Last week, the Met confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, linked to Palestine Action, following the arrests of three individuals at a protest in Parliament Square on 5 July. Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said: "I am proud of how our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system. "If necessary, we are able to investigate and quickly charge significant numbers of people each week if people want the potentially life-changing consequences of a terrorist conviction. "At the same time, we will continue to police the numerous protests each week where people express their views in support of Palestine without choosing to break counter-terrorism laws by supporting proscribed terror groups." The Met said the consequences for those charged under the Terrorism Act include a maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment. If a person is a member of a professional body, they may face disciplinary proceedings and potentially lose their job. Their future job applications could also be affected, as employers may see their records. Additionally, they might be denied admission to university courses and entry to several countries, including the US, Australia, and Japan, the Met said.
Sky News
35 minutes ago
- Sky News
Yvette Cooper defends arrest of more than 500 people at Palestine Action protests
Yvette Cooper has defended the arrest of more than 500 people for holding signs supporting Palestine Action. The home secretary said protesters over the weekend may have been objecting to Palestine Action being proscribed as a terror group because they "don't know the full nature of this organisation". Ms Cooper said that could be due to reporting restrictions on court hearings "while serious prosecutions are underway". A total of 532 people were arrested on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Around half of them (259) were aged 60 and above - including almost 100 people who were in their 70s. The Met Police said it was the largest number of arrests it had made related to a single operation in at least the past decade. Ms Cooper added: "Proscription is not about protest around Palestine or Gaza, where we had tens of thousands of people protesting lawfully just this weekend about some of the horrendous events that we've seen in the Middle East." She said members of Palestine Action have carried out violent attacks, causing injuries and involving weapons and smoke bombs, "causing panic among innocent people" and major criminal damage against national security infrastructure. The home secretary added there had been "clear security assessments and advice" before Palestine Action was proscribed as a terror organisation in July. Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said: "Yvette Cooper and No 10's claim that Palestine Action is a violent organisation is false and defamatory. "Spraying red paint on war planes is not terrorism. Disrupting Israel's largest weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems by trespassing on their sites in Britain is not terrorism." Former government lawyer Tim Crosland, now spokesman for Defend Our Juries, which organised the weekend's protest, told Sky News: "Yvette Cooper is so politically invested she's going to continue to defend the arrests of people simply protesting. "There will be more people at the next action, the police will be so aggrieved that they're having to arrest people holding placards protesting against the atrocities in Gaza while they're having budget cuts." 2:36 Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said Palestine Action was proscribed based on "strong security advice" following assessments from a "wide range" of experts across government, the police and security services. "Those assessments were very clear, this is not a non-violent organisation," he said. He added Palestine Action had committed "three separate acts of terrorism" but could not go into more detail as further evidence had been provided in a closed court setting due to "ongoing national security reasons". Human rights group Amnesty International said it was "deeply concerned" about the arrests this weekend. Its UK chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said: "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. "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."
Sky News
35 minutes ago
- Sky News
More than 500 people arrested after Palestine Action protest - with almost half aged 60 and above
The number of people arrested after a protest in London on Saturday supporting banned group Palestine Action has risen to 532, police have said. Around half of them (259) were aged 60 and above - including almost 100 people who were in their 70s. Some 522 arrests were for displaying a placard in support of a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, according to the Metropolitan Police. War in Gaza latest As of 9pm on Saturday, the number was put at 466. Hundreds of people attended the demonstration in Parliament Square, organised by Defend Our Juries, with the Metropolitan Police warning it would arrest anyone expressing backing for Palestine Action. Membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act. In a post on X shortly after 6.45pm on Sunday, Defend Our Juries said every person arrested in the square had been released from police custody, and that none had been charged. One of the arrests took place as the Palestine Coalition march formed in Russell Square, while 521 were at the protest. Of those arrested, the biggest number (147) was in the 60-69 age group, while 97 people were aged between 70 and 79, and 15 others were between 80-89. Six were aged 17-19, sixty-five were in the 20-29 age group, 55 were aged 30-39, 45 were aged 40-49 and 89 were in the 50-59 age group. The average age of those arrested was 54, while some 263 of those arrested were male, 261 were female and eight either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender. Among the arrests, six were for assaults on officers (none were seriously injured), one was for "obstructing a constable in the execution of his/her duty", two were for breaching Section 14 Public Order Act conditions, and one was for a racially aggravated public order offence. Anyone who was arrested as part of the operation was taken to one of two prisoner processing points in the Westminster area. Those whose details could be confirmed were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date. They were given conditions not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action. Those who refused to provide their details at the prisoner processing points and those who were found to have been arrested while already on bail, were taken to one of a number of Met Police custody suites. Charity Amnesty International described the mass arrests under UK terrorism law as "deeply concerning". The crowd, sat on the grass inside Parliament Square, could be seen writing "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action" on white placards at 1pm, with the vast majority remaining silent. Meanwhile on Sunday, hundreds of people joined a march on Downing Street to urge the release of those being held in Gaza by Palestinian militant group Hamas. A scuffle broke out after at least two men shouted "Free Palestine" in front of the march. One man was seen being bundled to the ground close to Trafalgar Square after being surrounded by around a dozen people.
