Published On 19 Jul 2025
Police in the United Kingdom have arrested more than 100 people at protests across the country calling for a ban on campaign group Palestine Action to be reversed.
Demonstrations took place on Saturday in Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Truro and London as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries, which has already seen dozens arrested.
London’s Metropolitan police said 55 people were arrested Saturday in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action. A further eight arrests were made in a separate march in central London in support of the group.
The Met police said 70 people were arrested at similar demonstrations in Parliament Square over the past two weekends.
Greater Manchester Police said it arrested 16 people on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation.
Avon and Somerset Police said 17 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act at a demonstration on College Green in Bristol. Devon and Cornwall Police arrested eight people protesting in Truro.
“Just a few weeks ago being arrested under the Terrorism Act was the stuff of nightmares,” said a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries.
“Now it’s a badge of honour that people are wearing with pride – the mark of resistance to genocide and standing firm for our democratic freedoms.”
By the end of the day, a total of 104 people had been detained in connection with the protests, according to figures reported by the UK’s PA news agency. Police warned before the protests that those showing support for the proscribed activist group faced arrest.
The protests come ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which the cofounder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for the green light to challenge the home secretary’s decision to ban the group under “anti-terror” laws.
The ban means that membership of, or support for, the