Latest news with #AudreyWhite
The National
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Police deny banning protester from 'mentioning Palestine' after arrest
Audrey White was arrested in Liverpool on Sunday and reports have suggested she was gagged from speaking about Palestine after she was released on bail later that night. The 74-year-old, who has a heart condition and low bone density which puts her at risk of fractures, was dragged by police officers across the ground and handcuffed as she lay prone. Campaign group Defend Our Juries has said White and others including her brother and a local priest were arrested for holding signs reading: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." Merseyside Police told The National that White, a veteran activist, was banned from attending protests in support of Palestine Action, but that her bail conditions did not prevent her from speaking about Palestine. READ MORE: Tory MP in stark 'Hague' warning to David Lammy over UK complicity in Gaza She was detained for nearly eight hours and released shortly before midnight on Sunday along with three others. A spokesperson for the force said her bail conditions set out that White was 'not to attend or go to any planned or unplanned protest, spontaneous or otherwise – and this is the key bit, really – in support of Palestine Action'. They added: 'It's fairly specifically around the group itself.' Palestine Action was branded a terrorist organisation and banned by Labour in an unprecedented move against a protest group. The organisation was proscribed under the Terrorism Act after breaking into RAF Brize Norton and vandalising planes. BREAKING: Four arrested on terror charges in Liverpool, including local legend Audrey White, her brother and a local priest. They were detained for holding signs during the local protest which said "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." — Defend our Juries (@DefendourJuries) July 20, 2025 Her other bail conditions stipulate that she must 'live and sleep at her address' and a ban on entering Liverpool city centre, the spokesperson said. Lawyers for Palestine Action's co-founder Huda Ammori told the High Court on Monday that Merseyside Police had barred people from mentioning Palestine as a condition of their release. White told The Guardian earlier this week that she was 'very sore, very shaken, very emotional and I'm frightened to be honest'. She added: 'It's designed to stop human rights and to stop protest and to stop free speech. 'There's two things to be afraid of in this country and one is that we lose everything we are proud of – the ability to speak out – and the other is that we would ever be involved in a genocide. READ MORE: Three men arrested under Terrorism Act after national Palestine demo in Edinburgh 'We look at these visions of children losing their limbs and being blown to bits. We've got to say: how can we stop our country's involvement in this genocide? Everyone has a responsibility to stop horrors like this all throughout history.' White, who is a carer for her husband who has cancer, said it was the first time in her more than 50-year career of campaigning for peace. The Trades Union Congress previously described her as one of the pioneering activists of the last 150 years for her decades-long campaign to change sexual harassment laws, which was dramatised in 1988 with Glenda Jackson playing a character based on White. She had recently made the headlines for giving Keir Starmer a brutal dressing down for crushing dissent within the Labour Party and writing for The Sun.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Woman, 74, tells of pain and fear after arrest at Liverpool pro-Palestine rally
A 74-year-old woman has said she was left 'shaken and frightened' after being arrested at a pro-Palestine rally under terrorism laws, in what she called an attempt to restrict freedom of speech. Audrey White, from Liverpool, was among more than 100 people detained across the UK at the weekend on suspicion of supporting the recently proscribed group Palestine Action. White had been holding up a sign before she was surrounded by officers in Liverpool city centre on Sunday. Video shows four police officers detaining the veteran campaigner on the ground to chants of 'shame on you' and 'let her go'. One protester shouts: 'Britain is a fascist state.' The officers then drag White across the pavement before handcuffing her as she lies prone on the ground. Footage then shows her being carried to a police van where she was taken to a police station for nearly eight hours. 'I'm very sore, very shaken, very emotional and I'm frightened to be honest,' White told the Guardian on Monday. Demonstrations were held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro over the weekend as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries. The Liverpool rally was held by Liverpool Friends of Palestine. It has been a criminal offence to be a member of, or show support for Palestine Action since 5 July after the protest group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act despite opposition from UN experts and civil liberties groups. White, who has a heart condition and low bone density, which means she is at risk of fractures, said it was the first time she had been arrested in more than half a century of campaigning against conflicts. 'It's designed to stop human rights and to stop protest and to stop free speech,' she said. 'There's two things to be afraid of in this country and one is that we lose everything we are proud of – the ability to speak out – and the other is that we would ever be involved in a genocide. 'We look at these visions of children losing their limbs and being blown to bits. We've got to say: how can we stop our country's involvement in this genocide? Everyone has a responsibility to stop horrors like this all throughout history.' The Trades Union Congress has previously described White as one of the pioneering activists of the last 150 years after her decades-long campaign to change sexual harassment laws in Britain. Glenda Jackson played White in a film about her crusade in 1988. Merseyside police released White and three other protesters on bail shortly before midnight on Sunday. She said one of her bail conditions effectively leaves her 'trapped in the house' because it restricts her from entering Liverpool city centre, where she lives. White, who is the secretary of the Merseyside Pensioners Association and cares for her husband who has cancer, said a police officer had told her she was allowed to attend medical appointments but that she could be arrested if she visited a shop afterwards. 'I'm just an ordinary woman with a family and problems and health issues and love a holiday. I just feel very strongly that these laws are being used against organisations and individuals now,' she said. 'They're against civil liberties, they're restricting the freedom of speech we were all proud of.' White said she was 'in pain and feel terrible' after being dragged into a police van. 'I'm just sore all over. I'm swollen in some places. One of the worst things is my head, it feels like it's blowing off me,' she said. The former shop worker is banned as part of her bail conditions from attending another pro-Palestine march but encouraged others to 'stand in solidarity with people who oppose genocide'. 'I only want peaceful demonstration,' she said. 'There was no need to do that to me. There was no need to arrest any of us. I don't believe they are entitled to arrest people for holding a piece of paper. 'I hope a lot of people saw what happened to me and realise they've got to draw the line somewhere … People who are peaceful should not be labelled as terrorists, me included.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Woman, 74, tells of pain and fear after arrest at Liverpool pro-Palestine rally
A 74-year-old woman has said she was left 'shaken and frightened' after being arrested at a pro-Palestine rally under terrorism laws in what she called an attempt to restrict freedom of speech. Audrey White, from Liverpool, was among more than 100 people detained across the UK at the weekend on suspicion of supporting the recently-proscribed group Palestine Action. White had been holding up a sign before she was surrounded by officers in Liverpool city centre on Sunday. Video shows four police officers detaining the veteran campaigner on the ground to chants of 'shame on you' and 'let her go'. One protester shouts: 'Britain is a fascist state.' The officers then drag White across the pavement before handcuffing her as she lies prone on the ground. Footage then shows her being carried to a police van where she was taken to a police station for nearly eight hours. 'I'm very sore, very shaken, very emotional and I'm frightened to be honest,' White told the Guardian on Monday. Demonstrations were held in Liverpool, London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro over the weekend as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries. It has been a criminal offence to be a member of, or show support for Palestine Action since 5 July after the protest group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act despite opposition from UN experts and civil liberties groups. White, who has a heart condition and low bone density, which means she is at risk of fractures, said it was the first time she had been arrested in more than half a century of campaigning against conflicts. 'It's designed to stop human rights and to stop protest and to stop free speech,' she said. 'There's two things to be afraid of in this country and one is that we lose everything we are proud of - the ability to speak out - and the other is that we would ever be involved in a genocide. 'We look at these visions of children losing their limbs and being blown to bits. We've got to say: how can we stop our country's involvement in this genocide? Everyone has a responsibility to stop horrors like this all throughout history.' The Trades Union Congress has previously described White as one the pioneering activists of the last 150 years after her decades-long campaign to change sexual harassment laws in Britain. Glenda Jackson played White in a film about her crusade in 1988. Merseyside police released White and three other protesters on bail shortly before midnight on Sunday. She said one of her bail conditions effectively leaves her 'trapped in the house' because it restricts her from entering Liverpool city centre, where she lives. White, who is the secretary of the Merseyside Pensioners Association and cares for her husband who has cancer, said a police officer had told her she was allowed to attend medical appointments but that she could be arrested if she visited a shop afterwards. 'I'm just an ordinary woman with a family and problems and health issues and love a holiday. I just feel very strongly that these laws are being used against organisations and individuals now,' she said. 'They're against civil liberties, they're restricting the freedom of speech we were all proud of.' White said she was 'in pain and feel terrible' after being dragged into a police van. 'I'm just sore all over. I'm swollen in some places. One of the worst things is my head, it feels like it's blowing off me,' she said. The former shop worker is banned as part of her bail conditions from attending another pro-Palestine march but encouraged others to 'stand in solidarity with people who oppose genocide'. 'I only want peaceful demonstration,' she said. 'There was no need to do that to me. There was no need to arrest any of us. I don't believe they are entitled to arrest people for holding a piece of paper. 'I hope a lot of people saw what happened to me and realise they've got to draw the line somewhere ... People who are peaceful should not be labelled as terrorists, me included.'
