More than half of the 532 people arrested at a Parliament Square demonstration against the proscription of Palestine Action were aged 60 or older, according to organisers. The protest on 9 August was the largest so far against the government's decision to ban the group as a terrorist organisation, with campaign group Defend Our Juries (DOJ) coordinating demonstrations.
Among those detained was Deborah Hinton, a former magistrate and ex-member of the Parole Board, who was arrested at a similar protest in Cornwall on 19 July. Hinton, who received an OBE in 1994, said she believed Palestine Action was not a terrorist organisation. "I lived through the IRA and the bombing in London when you had to leave shops and leave museums because bombs might go off any minute. Frankly, that is what a terrorist organisation is," she said. She described being arrested as "terrifying", adding that she had been a law-abiding citizen all her life but felt it was her duty to make a stand.
John McGowan, a Catholic priest and parish priest of St Joseph's in Chalfont St Peter, was also arrested at the 9 August demonstration. He said the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, should not call Palestine Action supporters terrorists. "The focus shouldn't be on Palestine Action," he said. "The focus should be on what the government isn't doing for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank." McGowan, who wore his Roman collar at the protest, said he had written in his diary that he would like to be arrested in support of the cause.
Hinton said older protesters had a greater responsibility to participate, as younger people risked their careers and future travel opportunities. "People like me, who are elderly, we can afford it," she said. "Young people shouldn't be doing this, we should be doing this. We should be taking the responsibility." She also criticised the government's approach, saying ministers were "making themselves look an absolute joke" when people on bail for terrorism were treated as such.
