LONDON: Dozens of people were arrested on Saturday at the US Embassy in London at a mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action, The Guardian reported.
The wave of arrests was the first under Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government, with organizers estimating that about 400 people took part in the rally.
Demonstrators gathered outside the building in Nine Elms and held signs that read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Another protest took place outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh, where protesters held a vigil in support of the banned group.
London’s Metropolitan Police warned people against taking part ahead of the demonstration.
Protesters would “face arrest as part of a robust policing operation” and those “playing a key role in organising the event, giving instructions to others and/or providing logistical support” would likely be committing an offense, the force said.
Adam Slonecki, the police commander in charge of the operation, said: “All those intending on coming to this event know that supporting a proscribed organisation is unlawful — they are essentially meeting to purposefully commit a crime.”
The Met was “terrified of facilitating US embarrassment,” said Defend Our Juries, organizers of the protest.
A spokesperson for the group said: “The Met police’s overzealous response outside the US Embassy today only serves to further expose how far authorities in the UK will go to appease American interests. Israel’s war crimes that have caused death and injury to thousands could not happen without the US’ approval.”
The arrests came ahead of a Nov. 4 appeal at the supreme court against Palestine Action’s designation as a terror group.
More than 160 people were arrested or reported for summons last month at a similar demonstration in support of the banned group outside the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool.
Palestine Action was proscribed in June 2025. Expressing support for the group is an offense under the Terrorism Act.
At Saturday’s protest, a retired lawyer, Charles Allison, 75, traveled from Cumbria to attend because he “feared for our liberties,” the Press Association reported.
“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,” he added.
“So, I’m dejected, but enthused that there are so many wonderful people protesting.”
Meanwhile, Sue Morhall, 79, another protester outside the US Embassy, told The Guardian: “The US is complicit in most of the wars that are going on. I just feel the leaders of this world, including Trump, need to know that people are so against what’s happening in Gaza.”
Morhall said she believes Burnham may rescind Palestine Action’s proscription, and that she had been arrested “five or six” times at previous demonstrations against the ban.
“It’s a terrible shame that people who are trying to stop a genocide are being arrested … it’s the principle, and this is one that I feel very strongly about,” she added.
Bill White, a 72-year-old church reverend that held an “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” sign, said: “I’m appalled that Britain is helping facilitate the genocide that is happening in Palestine. We supply weapons that are being used on Palestinians.”
As a person of faith, White said he had “no choice” but to take part in the protest, adding: “This is the right thing to do. There’s a bad law and it is wrong to criminalise people that are trying to prevent genocide.
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