Dozens of demonstrators were arrested after gathering outside the US embassy in London in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action. More than 100 people took part in the protest in Nine Elms, south-west London, on Saturday afternoon, with many holding signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Expressing support for the group is an offence under the Terrorism Act following its proscription in June 2025. Some protesters could be heard applauding and chanting “free, free Palestine” when people were taken away to police vans parked on Ponton Road, just off the embassy grounds, before being transferred to police stations.
Arrests Begin Shortly After 12.30pm
Officers started arresting some protesters one by one shortly after 12.30pm, sometimes carrying them if they refused to walk. A retired lawyer who travelled from his home in Cumbria to attend the protest on Saturday said he was demonstrating because he “feared for our liberties”.
Charles Allison, 75, told the Press Association: “I decided that I ought to try and do something, and this is the little bit that I’m doing. I fear for our civil liberties, which are being devalued and watered down, even by this new Labour Government. So I’m dejected, but enthused that there are so many wonderful people protesting.”
Appeal Against Proscription
The protest took place before an appeal at the Supreme Court against Palestine Action’s designation as a terror group on November 4, and was organised by activist group Defend Our Juries.
Asked why he was protesting on Saturday, Mr Allison told PA: “To show that there is no declining level of protest.
“I hope the Supreme Court justices, they won’t necessarily be influenced by it, but I hope that they will take a long-term view of what is happening in this country and decide that the proscription was unlawful, as I believe it was. I speak as an ex-lawyer, so it’s uncomfortable for me to break the law deliberately. But I felt that I could do no other.”
Dispersal Order and Police Measures
Mr Allison was taken away by two police officers just before 1pm, after he was told he posed a “threat”. The Metropolitan Police said a Section 35 dispersal order was in place in parts of London, covering the embassy grounds, from 8am to 11pm on Saturday.
The force said the measure, which means people can be ordered to leave the area or face arrest, followed “information that a group are planning to attend an event and express support for a proscribed organisation”.
Talking about the chosen location for the protest, Defend Our Juries said the US had “not shied away” from participation in the Palestine conflict. In August, the US government announced sanctions against Palestine Action, designating it as a terror group.
The Met spent £1.3 million on six “Palestine-Israel public order events” in June and July, according to its response to a freedom of information request. Another demonstration in support of Palestine Action took place outside the US consulate near Holyrood in Edinburgh on Saturday.
In June, five Court of Appeal judges said the ban on Palestine Action as a terror group was a “justified and proportionate” interference with freedom of expression rights. This overturned the judgment of three High Court judges who ruled in February that the then-home secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to ban Palestine Action was unlawful, following a legal challenge by the group’s co-founder, Huda Ammori.
