The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Home Secretary's decision to ban Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act was lawful, overturning a previous High Court judgment. The panel, led by Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr and Master of the Rolls Geoffrey Vos, found that the High Court had 'materially understated' the discretion afforded to the Home Secretary in proscription decisions.
In her written judgment, Lady Carr emphasised that future threats posed by the group were critical factors, and that the Home Secretary was best placed to assess these risks with expert advice. She balanced the severity of proscription's impact on freedom of expression and assembly against national security objectives, concluding that the latter outweighed the former.
The ban, in effect since 5 July last year, makes membership or support for Palestine Action punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Over 3,000 arrests have been made, with more than 700 people charged under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, facing up to six months in jail. Cases had been paused pending this appeal.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori vowed to continue the legal fight, stating she would seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, the European Court of Human Rights. She described the ban as 'one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history'.
Human rights groups including Liberty, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International UK, and Greenpeace criticised the ruling as a misuse of counter-terrorism powers. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police reported arresting 117 protesters outside the court on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation.
