Metropolitan Police arrest more than 200 protesters at London demonstration defying Palestine Action ban
Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people, including Left-wing activists and Muslim community leaders, gathered in Westminster on Saturday afternoon in defiance of the ban.
It came after the first three people to be charged with supporting Palestine Action in England and Wales were named.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 16.
Today, a crowd sat on the grass inside Parliament Square holding placards which read 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action', with the vast majority remaining silent.
Several others erected signs that read 'Palestine Action terrorises Britain while Hamas hides in hospitals, schools and mosques'.
Prior to the protest on Parliament Square, the group claimed Scotland Yard were preparing for the "largest mass arrest in their history".
Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, had urged members of the public to stay away from events supporting proscribed organisations.
The Met said a "significant number of people" were seen "displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action', with a further four detained for assaults on officers.
Among those arrested included quakers, a blind wheelchair user and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg.
As the gathering drew to a close at 4pm, police tightened their cordon around the remaining demonstrators, with one elderly man volunteering to be arrested next because of the wait.
Onlookers applauded the protesters and shouted 'shame on you' and 'pigs' at officers making arrests.
Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition set off from Russell Square via Aldwych and the Strand and assembled on Whitehall.
Meanwhile, activists from Greenpeace rebranded bus stops across the capital with posters reading: 'Protesting genocide is not terrorism.'
A spokesman for Defend Our Juries said the protest was an "embarrassment" for Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, because the police were only able to detain 'a fraction' of those breaking the law.
However, the Met denied claims made by the organisers, saying: 'After arrest, they were taken to prisoner processing points in the Westminster area.
'Those whose details could be confirmed were bailed, with conditions not to attend any further protest in support of Palestine Action.
'Those whose details were refused or could not be verified were taken to custody suites across London.'
The Met has been forced to draw officers in from neighbouring constabularies to help form a 'significant policing presence' in the city this weekend.
On Sunday, there will be a 'National March for the Hostages' in central London organised by the pro-Israeli collective Stop the Hate.
This is a major embarrassment to Yvette Cooper
Defend Our Juries
In July, MPs voted to outlaw Palestine Action, meaning support for the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Palestine Action's website was also been blocked in the UK after a last-minute legal challenge to suspend the group's proscription failed.
It comes after two Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint.
The Home Office has defended the proscription, saying the move is 'not about Palestine' and does not affect the right to protest on Palestinian rights amid Israel's war against Hamas.
A spokesman said: '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.
'The decision to proscribe was based on strong security advice and the unanimous recommendation by the expert cross-government proscription review group.
'This followed serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.'
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