
Police question woman who wore ‘concentration camp prisoner' outfit at protest
Images of the protester, whose identity the police have not disclosed, circulated on social media, showing the woman dressed in striped clothes, hat and face mask.
Yellow symbols depicting the crescent moon and star of Islam were sewn on to the shirt and hat, and the protester held a sign with the hashtag 'We Are All Palestine Action'.
The Met Police said in a post on X that the woman was questioned on Friday.
'Images were shared this week showing a woman at protests wearing clothing imitating that worn by those held in concentration camps during the Holocaust,' they said.
UPDATE: Images were shared this week showing a woman at protests wearing clothing imitating that worn by those held in concentration camps during the Holocaust.
This afternoon she was interviewed under caution at a central London police station.
Our investigation continues.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 27, 2025
'This afternoon she was interviewed under caution at a central London police station.
'Our investigation continues.'
Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS), described the outfit as 'a blatant act of antisemitism' and criticised Met Police officers who oversaw the demonstration for failing to take immediate action.
'This was a blatant act of antisemitism that has caused distress and upset to many people in the Jewish community in Britain,' Mr Hearn said.
'The Holocaust is not a costume.
'We are glad that the police are now taking action but the question remains why police officers at this protest and outside Parliament did not act on the spot.'
Mr Hearn added: 'Time and again these so-called protesters display racist hatred and contempt for Jews in front of police officers, but it is only when the Jewish community publicly calls this out and demands action that the police engage.'
The Metropolitan Police have declined to answer further questions.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that she has decided to proscribe Palestine Action and will lay an order before Parliament next week which, if passed, will make membership and support for the protest group illegal.
Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
On Monday, a march took place in support of Palestine Action in central London, during which clashes between the police and some protesters led to 13 arrests for alleged offences including assaulting an emergency worker, obstructing a constable and breaching Public Order Act conditions, the Metropolitan Police previously said.
Palestine Action has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising US President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty dons 'Palestine Action' top at Fringe
Paul Laverty, who has written some of director Ken Loach's most famous films including The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, donned a top with the words 'Genocide in Palestine, time to take action' emblazoned on the chest. The design is such that at a glance, the slogan could be taken to read 'Palestine Action'. Wearing clothing with the group's branding or name can result in a six month prison sentence under terror laws. Palestine Action were proscribed under the Terrorism Act in an unprecedented step against a protest group earlier this year after vandalising RAF planes. The screenwriter, who grew up in Wigtown, wore the T-shirt at an "In Conversation" event in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Writing in The National, Laverty said: 'All the palaver over a black T-shirt with the words 'Genocide in Gaza, time to Take Action': it's truly mind-boggling that hundreds may have been arrested, and some face terrorism charges for wearing this shirt.' Accusing UK Government ministers of having 'colluded with genocide', Laverty said: 'No doubt they will have teams of legal experts to argue otherwise. READ MORE: David Lammy broke law while fishing with JD Vance 'But in the court of public opinion who will ever forget Starmer's very first interview justifying the cutting off food and water to the entire population of Gaza? Who will forget Foreign Secretary Lammy at the dispatch box denying that Genocide was happening in Gaza, and Starmer too. 'It is vital to remember that the Labour Government did not revoke arms licences to Israel until September of 2024, long after tens of thousands of innocents had been bombed.' He added: 'Nothing this UK Government does, even with their revocation of arms licences, impinges on the genocide machine as it continues to murder the starving. Critically, there is no mention of support for the Boycott and Divestment Campaign which could make a difference. 'And shamefully, not one UK Cabinet member can say seven simple words: 'Genocide in Gaza, time to Take Action'. 'One day, when it all comes out, as it will, we will look back in horror and ask how it all unfolded. Western collusion will haunt us.'


BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
After mass arrests, what happens next with Palestine Action ban?
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That depends on three courtroom battles that will each, in turn, influence how Palestine Action is publicly perceived and legally start with the protesters arrested since July for showing support for the group - more than 700 so lawyer says it has been awkward so far for police officers."I've seen police look incredibly uncomfortable with the fact that they are having to treat these elderly people as criminals," said solicitor Katie McFadden, who advised many protesters, after their arrests, last Saturday."I've seen them in police custody and they've certainly been considerate and looked, frankly, quite shocked and horrified that this is what they were having to do as part of their job when they've signed up to go out and protect the public from dangerous criminals."The real challenge for the police and prosecutors is how many protesters do they need to charge with support of a banned terrorist organisation to send a message to the public. And what message do they send if they don't charge them all? So far, three people have been charged with displaying an item showing support for Palestine Action during the first demonstration on 5 July. They will all appear in court next director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, had to consult the Attorney General's Office before he could go ahead with the charges because of additional safeguards in some terrorism means that Lord Hermer, the Attorney General and also a cabinet minister, or his deputy, may have to be involved in each of the files that police send to in turn, means the vast majority of the 700 may not know for months if they are going to end up on trial - in cases that could be more than a year away from a assuming they do get charged, history suggests the risk of a maximum of 14-year sentence is low. 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But ministers hope that the difference between the organisation she founded and other forms of protest over Gaza will become clear thanks to the second of the three linked legal battles soon to take centre August 2024 alleged PAG supporters broke into Elbit Systems UK in Bristol, an Israeli defence firm that has long been a key target.A repurposed prison van smashed through a security fence and crowbars and a sledgehammer were allegedly used to smash up people were injured: a security guard and two police Action promoted video of the damage - but not any pictures of the alleged allegations begin to come to trial in November. Some 18 people deny charges including criminal damage, assault causing actual bodily harm, violent disorder and aggravated incident prompted national security officials and the police to look at whether a terrorism ban on PAG could be justified, after having previously concluded that the vast majority of its highly disruptive activities amounted to minor criminal damage. Documents disclosed to the BBC in the High Court show how the thinking on a ban had evolved. Palestine Action was becoming more militant, said officials. It had allegedly produced an "underground manual" that it was claimed detailed how to plan a "break-in", referring to face masks, burner phones and fake car number plates."With an efficient sledgehammer in your hand, you can cause quite a bit of damage," the manual read, before than detailing how to do this is where the UK's wide definition of terrorism comes in. It includes not just the threat or use of violence to advance a cause - but also the use of serious criminal because in the 1990s the IRA began causing economic damage through bombs, without taking when Cooper banned PAG, her decision was largely informed by what the Home Office has described as millions of pounds of criminal damage, not an assessment that it was a group of murderous militants."Proscription is about one narrow group that has been involved in violent attacks including injuries, including weapons, smoke bombs causing panic among innocent people, major criminal damage," the home secretary said following last Saturday's arrests."There may be people who are objecting to proscription who don't know the full nature of this organisation due to court restrictions on reporting while serious prosecutions are under way but it's really important that no one is in any doubt that this is not a non-violent organisation." Ms Ammori has contested this characterisation, saying the government's own papers show that Palestine Action did not advocate for brings us to the third of the three big legal challenges that will decide this affair: was the Home Secretary right?The High Court will consider in the autumn if the ban was a rational and proportionate response to PAG's Hall KC, the independent watchdog of terrorism laws, has previously told BBC News that the ban is legally workable because the group had moved from protest into what is effectively "blackmail" - suggesting it was exerting pressure to get what it Ms Ammori's legal team have a range of significant arguments around freedom of Turk, the United Nations' human rights chief has got involved too, saying the ban is so wrong it places the UK outside international outcome of that case will define whether Palestine Action remains banned. If the ban falls, then the 700 arrested so far are free - their cases would collapse. As for the group itself, it may feel emboldened - but would know that it could still be banned again if its actions cross the terrorism laws the ban stands, then the advantage will be with the government - and arrests and charges will is the counter-terrorism policing way: slowly but surely, step by step, seek to contain and, ultimately, crush the threat.


Spectator
6 hours ago
- Spectator
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