Arrests reach 522 following Palestine protest in London
In an update to its previous arrest tally, the Met said all but one of those 522 arrests took place at a Parliament Square protest and were for displaying placards backing Palestine Action.
The other arrest for the same offence took place at nearby Russell Square as thousands rallied at a Palestine Coalition march demonstrating against Israel's war in Gaza.
The 522 total is thought to be the highest ever recorded at a single protest in the UK capital.
The Met made 10 further arrests, including six for assaults on officers, though none were seriously injured, it added.
The force said the average age of those arrested yesterday was 54, with six teenagers, 97 aged in their 70s and 15 octogenarians.
A roughly equal number of men and women were detained.
The government outlawed Palestine Action on 5 July, days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7 million (€8.08 million) of damage to two aircraft.
The group said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.
Britain's interior ministry has insisted that Palestine Action was also suspected of other "serious attacks" that involved "violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage".
In a statement following the latest mass arrests, interior minister Yvette Cooper defended the government's decision, insisting: "UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority".
"The assessments are very clear - this is not a non-violent organisation," she added.
'Concerns'
But critics, including the United Nations and groups such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have condemned its proscription as legal overreach and a threat to free speech.
"If this was happening in another country, the UK government would be voicing grave concerns about freedom of speech and human rights," Greenpeace UK's co-executive director Areeba Hamid said Saturday.
She added the government had "now sunk low enough to turn the Met into thought police, direct action into terrorism".
Police across the UK have made scores of similar arrests since July 5, when being a member of Palestine Action or supporting the group became a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Police announced this week that the first three people had been charged in the English and Welsh criminal justice system with such backing following their arrests at a July 5 demo.
In its update Sunday, the Met revealed a further 26 case files following other arrests on that day are due to be submitted to prosecutors "imminently" and that more would follow related to later protests.
It believes 30 of those held Saturday had been arrested at previous recent Palestine Action protests.
Eighteen people remained in custody Sunday lunchtime, but were set to be bailed within hours, the Met added.
It noted officers from its counter-terrorism command will now "work to put together the case files required to secure charges against those arrested as part of this operation".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
7 hours ago
- The Journal
English backpacker pleads guilty to killing man while drunk driving on e-scooter in Australia
AN ENGLISH BACKPACKER has pleaded guilty after fatally crashing into a father-of-two while riding an e-scooter under the influence of alcohol in Australia. Alicia Kemp, from Redditch, Worcestershire, appeared in Perth Magistrates' Court via video link from prison on Monday, charged with dangerous driving causing death under the influence of alcohol. Another charge of causing harm to a passenger while under the influence of alcohol was dropped. The 25-year-old was over the Australian legal limit when she crashed into Thanh Phan, 51, while riding through Perth's city centre on 31 May. Mr Phan died in hospital days later after suffering a brain bleed. Kemp and the scooter's passenger also suffered minor injuries. Advertisement According to the Australian Associated Press, Kemp's lawyer Mike Tudori told reporters outside the court his client was 'nervous and worried' being a 'young foreign national girl' in an overseas jail. 'She's obviously done something stupid at the time,' he said. 'She obviously wasn't thinking level-headed and there's consequences, and she just wants to get on with her life.' Mr Phan's death thrust the issue of e-scooter regulations into Australia's national spotlight, prompting the City of Perth and several other local councils to suspend e-scooter hire services indefinitely. In an earlier statement, Mr Phan's family described him as a 'beloved husband, father of two and dear friend'. Kemp will remain in custody and is due to appear before Perth District Court on October 31, when a date will be set for her sentencing. The charge of dangerous driving causing death carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Under Western Australian law, e-scooter riders must wear a helmet, be sober, carry no passengers and be aged over 16 years old.
RTÉ News
11 hours ago
- RTÉ News
5 things to know about Al Jazeera
Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera said yesterday that five of its journalists were killed in an Israeli strike, including a prominent reporter. The Israeli military acknowledged in a statement targeting correspondent Anas al-Sharif, accusing him of being a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas. Here are five things to know about the Arab media giant, which has been at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration since well before Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza started on 7 October 2023. 1. Founded by decree Al Jazeera was launched in Doha in 1996 by a decree issued by the former emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. While stipulating that the channel should be "totally independent of all influences", the decree also provided a $150m (€130m) government loan for "setting it up and covering its operating costs for five years". Though Al Jazeera Media Network is a private business, the broadcaster has retained some Qatari government funding, which its critics often cite when questioning its editorial independence from Doha. The broadcaster immediately emerged as a rival to international media giants but its no-holds-barred coverage as the self-described "first independent news channel in the Arab world" also sparked a series of legal disputes in the region in its early years. 2. Global reach The channel says it operates in 95 countries with 70 bureaus and a staff of 3,000 employees, with a global audience of more than 430 million homes. Al Jazeera, the network's initial Arabic-language news channel, was joined in 2006 by an English service. Al Jazeera and Al Jazeera English, the network's flagship channels, have distinct editorial lines with the Arabic-language channel more frequently facing criticism from within the region. The network also includes a live public affairs channel, Al Jazeera Mubasher, and its digital-only AJ+ channel, which targets young audiences. 3. Airtime for dissidents When a wave of popular uprisings swept the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, Al Jazeera was seen as a key shaper of public opinion because it gave unprecedented airtime to opposition groups, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. The network has repeatedly rejected any accusation of bias in its coverage. Al Jazeera faced pressure from governments across the region and became the focus of feud between Cairo and Doha after the 2013 military ouster of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi. Cairo considered it a mouthpiece for Morsi's Islamist movement and Egyptian authorities arrested three Al Jazeera journalists, including Australian Peter Greste, provoking international condemnation. 4. Regional blockade In 2017, Qatar's neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, imposed a three-year diplomatic and economic blockade on the Gulf monarchy. As well as demanding Qatar cut ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and its sister organisation Hamas, and downgrade relations with Iran, the boycotting states also called for the closure of Al Jazeera and all its affiliates. The channel called the pressure an attempt to "silence freedom of expression". 5. On the ground in Gaza Since war broke out in Gaza on 7 October 2023 triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel, Al Jazeera has aired continuous on-the-ground reporting of Israel's military campaign and its consequences. Its broadcasts have been among the most watched in the Middle East amid widespread disenchantment with Western media coverage regarded as skewed in Israel's favour. In April 2024, Mr Netanyahu called Al Jazeera a "terrorist channel", saying he would "act immediately" to halt its activities after parliament passed a law allowing the banning of media broadcasts deemed harmful to national security. The law was used to ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting from Israel as of 5 May 2024 and to close its offices in the country in a temporary but renewable measure. Israel later moved to revoke the press credentials of some Al Jazeera journalists. The network has decried a "criminal" violation of "the human right to access information". Since the start of the Gaza war, Al Jazeera's office in the besieged Palestinian territory has been bombed and a number of its staff have been killed. Israel has repeatedly accused Al Jazeera journalists, including those killed or injured in strikes, of "terrorism" links or collaborating with Hamas. Al Jazeera has fiercely denied the allegations and accused Israel of systematically targeting its employees in Gaza.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Arrests reach 522 following Palestine protest in London
London's police service has said that officers had arrested 522 people the previous day for breaching anti-terror laws by supporting the recently proscribed group Palestine Action. In an update to its previous arrest tally, the Met said all but one of those 522 arrests took place at a Parliament Square protest and were for displaying placards backing Palestine Action. The other arrest for the same offence took place at nearby Russell Square as thousands rallied at a Palestine Coalition march demonstrating against Israel's war in Gaza. The 522 total is thought to be the highest ever recorded at a single protest in the UK capital. The Met made 10 further arrests, including six for assaults on officers, though none were seriously injured, it added. The force said the average age of those arrested yesterday was 54, with six teenagers, 97 aged in their 70s and 15 octogenarians. A roughly equal number of men and women were detained. The government outlawed Palestine Action on 5 July, days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7 million (€8.08 million) of damage to two aircraft. The group said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel amid the war in Gaza. Britain's interior ministry has insisted that Palestine Action was also suspected of other "serious attacks" that involved "violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage". In a statement following the latest mass arrests, interior minister Yvette Cooper defended the government's decision, insisting: "UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority". "The assessments are very clear - this is not a non-violent organisation," she added. 'Concerns' But critics, including the United Nations and groups such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have condemned its proscription as legal overreach and a threat to free speech. "If this was happening in another country, the UK government would be voicing grave concerns about freedom of speech and human rights," Greenpeace UK's co-executive director Areeba Hamid said Saturday. She added the government had "now sunk low enough to turn the Met into thought police, direct action into terrorism". Police across the UK have made scores of similar arrests since July 5, when being a member of Palestine Action or supporting the group became a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Police announced this week that the first three people had been charged in the English and Welsh criminal justice system with such backing following their arrests at a July 5 demo. In its update Sunday, the Met revealed a further 26 case files following other arrests on that day are due to be submitted to prosecutors "imminently" and that more would follow related to later protests. It believes 30 of those held Saturday had been arrested at previous recent Palestine Action protests. Eighteen people remained in custody Sunday lunchtime, but were set to be bailed within hours, the Met added. It noted officers from its counter-terrorism command will now "work to put together the case files required to secure charges against those arrested as part of this operation".
