More than 1,000 people have pledged to risk arrest this Saturday at a fresh protest against a ban on the group Palestine Action, as police detained five spokespeople for the event’s organisers.
Tim Crosland, a former government lawyer who is one of the co-founders of the Defend Our Juries group, was among those arrested hours before he was due to address a press conference on Tuesday.
Defend Our Juries confirmed the mass action would go ahead after 1,000 people pledged to go, saying: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
The protest will be the second major protest outside parliament at which people have defied terror laws by deliberately expressing support for the banned group, and the fifth gathering there since its proscription in early July.
The award-winning Irish author Sally Rooney had been due to join Crosland and others in an online press conference at 2pm on Tuesday but this was postponed until Wednesday.
The Metropolitan police said on Tuesday that five people had been arrested as part of a “proactive” investigation led by the force’s counter terrorism command into suspected activity linked to Palestine Action. They were arrested on suspicion of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, contrary to section 12 of the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000.
Police said those arrested were a 26-year-old man in south London, a 55-year-old man in south-east London, a 61-year-old woman in east London, a 48-year-old woman in Kendal, Cumbria, and a 39-year-old man in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
Ch Supt Helen Flanagan, head of operations for the counter terrorism command, said: “We know there is a great strength of feeling towards the situation in Palestine and thousands have been able, and continue to be able, to express their views through protest and demonstrations, without breaking counter-terrorism laws.”
Amnesty International said the arrests were “incredibly concerning” and called for the immediate release of the people held.
Kerry Moscogiuri, the director of campaigns and communications at Amnesty International UK, said: “The mass peaceful demonstrations they have organised over recent weeks are protected by international human rights law – and to think they run the risk of being imprisoned for up to 14 years is a terrifying example of the UK authorities’ willingness to use authoritarian practices to silence dissent.”
Crosland’s arrest was confirmed by Defend our Juries, which also said Paddy Friend, a law student who was due to address the press conference, was arrested at 7.10am on Tuesday.
In video footage, an officer can be heard telling him he was under arrest on suspicion of offences under section 12, sub-section 3 of the Terrorism Act for addressing an online Zoom meeting between 10 July 2025 and 21 August 2025 for the purpose of encouraging support and furthering the activities of Palestine Action.
A Defend Our Juries spokesperson said: “This is scandalous. Locking up our key spokespeople just hours before they were due to hold a press conference announcing more peaceful Lift the Ban protests constitutes an unprecedented assault on free speech in our country.
“This level of political repression is not what we expect in a democracy – it’s the kind of tactic typically associated with authoritarian regimes around the world.”
About 1,000 people took part in the last major protest in Parliament Square, where participants held up signs saying: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Half of the 532 people who were arrested were aged 60 or above.
The protest this weekend will coincide with a major march in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others, but also comes amid mounting controversy over this year’s DSEI arms fair, Britain’s flagship defence show, which starts on Saturday.
London’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, is making clear his opposition to the conference, which he said was particularly inappropriate given Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Khan said: “The mayor is completely opposed to this event taking place in London and is appalled that the capital is being used as a marketplace for those who wish to trade in weapons.”
