logo
Dozens to be prosecuted for supporting terror group Palestine Action after hundreds were arrested in protests

Dozens to be prosecuted for supporting terror group Palestine Action after hundreds were arrested in protests

The Suna day ago
COPS have charged a further 60 people for supporting Palestine Action after more than 700 arrests.
The group was proscribed last month after they took credit for vandalising two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, in an alleged £7million attack.
3
3
3
Palestine Action have also been linked to claims of serious assault on staff and police officers at a business in South Gloucestershire.
Since proscription, it is a criminal offence to show support for the group - carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
This comes after more than 15,000 people held a peaceful protest in London last weekend to support Palestine, where only one person was arrested.
But cop s later detained 522 people who were illegally supporting Palestine Action.
Five others were arrested for assaulting police officers, two for breaching public order conditions and one for racially aggravated public order.
Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square, with police preparing for the "largest mass arrest in their history".
It turned out to be an even higher number of arrests made by the Metropolitan Police at a single protest than the poll tax riots of 1990, when 339 people were arrested.
Clusters of officers could be seen holding people sat on the edge of the grass and escorting them through crowds to police vans.
One man, who appeared to be in his 50s, was arrested after he entered a large group of police holding a homemade sign reading "I support Palestine Action".
He was marched away by a group of nine cops.
Record number arrested at Palestine Action protest as demonstrators bring chaos to London
People waving Palestinian flags and signs reading "stop the genocide" continued to gather in the main square despite the risk of arrest.
Another pair of protesters holding handwritten pro-Palestine Action banners sat on the statue of Millicent Garrett Fawcett.
They were later arrested and carried away by police officers. As they were carried away the crowd shouted "shame on you".
Three retired doctors in scrubs lay and sat holding signs in support of the controversial group - police surrounded them and arrested a woman, carrying her away through the crowd.
Another was later carried away, with officers having to fight through an angry crowd.
The mass protest comes only days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group were publicly named as Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, also 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53.
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 public has a democratic right to protest peacefully in this country, and I understand the depth of feeling around the horrific scenes in Gaza.
'However, Palestine Action is now a proscribed terrorist organisation and those who have chosen to break the law will be subject to criminal proceedings under the Terrorism Act.
'When protest conduct crosses the line from lawful activity into criminality, we have a duty to enforce the law.
'People should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action. A terrorism conviction can severely impact your life and career – it can restrict your ability to travel overseas and work in certain professions.
'I urge people to think very carefully about their actions at protests. Anyone who chooses to disobey the law will have to face the consequences.'
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley added: '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.
'To be clear, these arrests and prosecutions do not outlaw people's right to demonstrate in support of Palestine, or any other cause. They are simply the enforcement of a specific provision under the Terrorism Act in relation to a specific proscribed terrorist organisation, Palestine Action.
'Where officers see these offences, we will continue to make arrests and, as shown today, the CPS and police will work to quickly secure charges, at whatever scale is necessary.'
A Home Office spokesperson said in a previous statement: "The Home Secretary has been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action is not about Palestine, nor does it affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights.
"It only applies to the specific and narrow organisation whose activities do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on different issues."
Consequences of Terrorism Act offences
Source; Met Police
•A maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment.
•The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will have a record of a person's TACT conviction, and this will be seen by employers who use DBS to carry out checks on staff or new applicants. The existence of a TACT conviction may be seen by employers as grounds for a refusal to employ a person or to dismiss them.
•Universities also carry out DBS checks, and may refuse entry to courses to those with terrorism convictions.
•Any application to visit another country usually requires a declaration of criminal convictions. A TACT conviction will be a potential bar to entry to countries including the US, Australia, Japan, and from 2026 when the ETIAS system is introduced, countries of the European Union.
•If a person is a member of a professional body, they may face disciplinary proceedings and potentially removal from the profession.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Starmer under new pressure over migrants after 700 protestors stage angry demo at Scots asylum hotel that housed rapist
Starmer under new pressure over migrants after 700 protestors stage angry demo at Scots asylum hotel that housed rapist

Daily Mail​

time2 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Starmer under new pressure over migrants after 700 protestors stage angry demo at Scots asylum hotel that housed rapist

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faced mounting pressure over the housing of illegal immigrants last night after 700 people were involved in angry clashes outside a migrant hotel in a Scots town. Police had to call in reinforcements as local residents and anti-racism groups hurled bottles and insults at each other outside the hotel in Falkirk which can hold more than 50 asylum seekers. Community tensions had reached fever pitch after Afghan asylum seeker Sadeq Nikzad, 29, – a former resident in the hotel – was jailed in June for raping a local 15-year-old schoolgirl. Yesterday, one of Sir Keir's own Labour MPs said he believed that migrants should be removed from Falkirk's Cladhan Hotel. Euan Stainbank, the MP for Falkirk, said: 'These hotels don't work for host communities or those who stay there and their use will be ended by this government.' And a senior Tory MSP demanded Sir Keir's government find an alternative way to house migrants as soon as possible – and said locals had 'legitimate safety concerns for themselves and for their children'. Yesterday's demo is the first large-scale asylum hotel protest in Scotland following similar demonstrations in England, notably outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. On Friday, Epping Forest District Council managed to secure a temporary block on The Bell accepting any further asylum seekers due to an increase in community tensions. If a judge rules in the council's favour on Tuesday it could open the door to a flurry of similar applications to the courts to dismantle asylum hotels at a community level, including from Falkirk. But last night Scottish Conservative Community Safety spokeswoman Sharon Dowey called for Labour to intervene as a priority. She said: 'Robust action is needed from Labour ministers if they're serious about keeping Scots safe. 'They can start by heeding the concerns of local communities and look into closing these hotels by delivering an alternative solution to housing asylum seekers.' Recent Norstat polling suggests the vast majoity of voters in Scotland, 77 per cent, want immigration to either decrease or remain at current levels. The survey published in February 2025 appeared to mirror a UK-wide trend in voters seeing immigrantion as an issue of concern. Ms Dowey believes this weekend's protests 'reflects the widespread outrage felt by those in the community' following the rape conviction of Nikzad. The migrant, who had entered the UK illegally on a small boat, subjected a vunerable 15-year-old to an 'appalling, opportunistic attack' in Falkirk in October 2023. He was later handed a 12-year extended sentence at the High Court in Livingston. The Afghani claimed he'd not been educated on 'cultural' differences and repeatedly shouted 'liar' at judge John Morris, KC. Nikzad – who had uploaded a picture of himself onto his Facebook posing in one of the chairs inside the Cladhan Hotel – is due to be deported after serving his prison term. Hundreds of people turned out to protest alongside Save Our Future and Our Kids' Future outside the hotel yesterday, including Darren, a local father, who claimed he feared for the children's safety in the area. He said: 'There are kids getting followed home and it all leads back to here. And it's not just young lassies, it's boys as well.' Father-of-two Connor Graham took to a megaphone to tell protesters: 'Here's my message: We are not going away. We are not going to be intimidated into silence. And we are certainly not going to be written off as extremists. 'We want a safer Falkirk... we want answers and we want action and we want the same thing every decent person should want, a community where our children can grow up safe.' On the opposite side of the protests was Claire Love, a 42-year-old social worker from Bonnybridge, who joined Stand Up to Racism counter-protestors. She told The Mail she feared there had been an 'increase in racism, homophobia and xenophobia in recent times'. Falkirk MP Mr Stainbank said the former Conservative Government was to blame for a 'broken asylum system' and insisted his party will get to grips with the issue. Referencing the Tory scheme that aimed to send failed asylum seekers to Rwanda which Labour scrapped when it won power last year, he said: 'We must fix the broken asylum system for communities such as Falkirk and those fleeing conflict across the world. 'Refocusing resources away from Rwanda and onto processing will allow us to end the use of asylum hotels, which were set up by the Tories and many of their rebranded Reform colleagues. 'This approach has already seen the asylum backlog reduced by over 59,000 by the start of 2025 compared to if we had kept the Tories broken system. 'These hotels don't work for host communities or those who stay there and their use will be ended by this government.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'Since taking office, we have taken immediate action to fix the asylum system and have started closing down hotels and returning more than 35,000 people with no right to be here. 'From over 400 asylum hotels open in summer 2023, costing almost £9 million a day, there are now fewer than 210, and we want them all closed by the end of this Parliament. 'We will continue to work closely with community partners across the country, and discuss any concerns they have, as we look to fix this broken system together.'

Starmer to speak with coalition of the willing ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting
Starmer to speak with coalition of the willing ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting

The Independent

time3 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Starmer to speak with coalition of the willing ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting

Sir Keir Starmer will speak to western allies on Sunday ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky's White House meeting with Donald Trump. The Prime Minister, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz will host the meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon. The coalition, made up of 30-plus nations, is prepared to deter Russian aggression by putting troops on the ground in Ukraine once the war is over. The meeting, which is expected to take place at approximately 2pm UK time, comes on the heels of US President Mr Trump's summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump hoped to secure a peace deal from the talks at a military base in Anchorage, but both he and Mr Putin walked away without agreement on how to end the war in Ukraine. The US leader, however, insisted 'some great progress' was made, with 'many points' agreed and 'very few' remaining. Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops. Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office. After the Alaska summit, the US president told Fox News it was now up to Mr Zelensky to 'make a deal' to end the war. Sir Keir commended Mr Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US president, Mr Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine's leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine.

Police arrest 13 people at Palestine Action protest in Norwich
Police arrest 13 people at Palestine Action protest in Norwich

The Guardian

time4 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Police arrest 13 people at Palestine Action protest in Norwich

Police arrested 13 people at a protest in Norfolk on Saturday on suspicion of showing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action. A group assembled outside City Hall in St Peters Street, Norwich, holding placards referencing the organisation, Norfolk police said. The force said they were arrested on suspicion of displaying an item in support of a proscribed organisation, contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. It added: 'Five of those arrested have been taken to Wymondham police investigation centre for questioning, where they remain. The remaining eight people were spoken to by officers and provided their details for further investigation. They were therefore de-arrested. 'A 14th person had their sign seized by officers during the protest and provided their details when requested.' Norfolk police superintendent Wes Hornigold said: 'We will always work to facilitate peaceful protest and protect the democratic right to assembly, however the actions of this group were unlawful. 'Our officers' role is to prevent disorder, damage and disruption in the local community and they will use their powers to do this. Any breaches of the law will be dealt with.' The arrests came a day after the Metropolitan police said a further 60 people will be prosecuted for alleged support of Palestine Action. The force said this followed the arrest of more than 700 people since the group was banned on 5 July, including 522 in central London last Saturday. More prosecutions are expected in the coming weeks and arrangements have been put in place 'that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary', the Met said. The Met last week confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales for offences under the Terrorism Act relating to Palestine Action. On Friday, organisations including Greenpeace and Human Rights Watch wrote to the attorney general for England and Wales arguing that protesters arrested for supporting the organisation should not be prosecuted until a legal challenge to a ban on the group has been heard. [ Palestine Action was proscribed last month by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, 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.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store