Over 100 arrested at London Palestine Action demo as co-founder told she can challenge terror ban at Supreme Court

Palestine Action’s co-founder can take her case to the Supreme Court to fight a judge’s ruling the group’s ban was lawful.Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the court in central London where court proceedings were scheduled to take place for people previously arrested for backing the group. The Met Police had warned that protesters showing support for the banned group – whose proscription was upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2026 – would face arrest under the Terrorism Act by officers deployed to the area. Police detain a demonstrator outside Westminster Magistrates' CourtPAPolice detain another protesterPAIn an update just after 4pm the Met said that 117 people had so far been arrested. It said the majority had been arrested for expressing support for a proscribed organisation. Four people have been arrested for encouraging or assisting a criminal offence, the Met said.Defend Our Juries said one of those those arrested for support for Palestine Action is Sir Jonathan Porritt, a campaigner and author who served as Director of Friends of the Earth and was an advisor to King Charles III for over 30 years.The group said in a statement: “From 12pm today, hundreds of people have been gathering to take part in a ‘Graduation Day’ organised by Defend Our Juries, coinciding with a scheduled review hearing for the prosecution of 1,579 people under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for holding signs in support of Palestine Action during mass silent vigils in Parliament Square last year. “Since 1pm today, people have been taking to a stage one by one to speak the words: 'I support Palestine Action and I encourage everyone to do the same. Saving lives is not terrorism.”LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 30: A demonstrator in a wheelchair is moved by police officers as the activist group Defend Our Juries hold a "Graduation Day" protest at Westminster Magistrates' Court GettyThe Court of Appeal ruled in June that the government's proscription of Palestine Action as a terror organisation was lawful.In one of the most significant rulings on national security in recent years, five of the most senior judges in the country overturned an earlier decision from the High Court that the ban had breached the right to protest and had been incorrectly taken by ministers.Police detain a demonstrator outside Westminster Magistrates' CourtPAAfter the judgment, the group’s co-founder Huda Ammori said she intended to take the case to the Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.Read MoreShe launched her bid to take the case to the UK’s highest court earlier this month and in a decision published on Thursday, Lord Sales, Lord Leggatt and Lady Simler granted permission for her appeal.The case is to be expedited, court records show, with a hearing expected between October and December.Justices granted the green light to challenge the ban on the basis that Ms Cooper had incorrectly applied her own policy, but refused a bid to challenge the decision based on interference with freedom of speech and freedom of association rights.After the decision, Ms Ammori referenced the arrests and said: “This further evidences our case that the proscription of Palestine Action has become a vehicle for a far broader crackdown on expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people.“This unprecedented attack on free speech and the right to protest in this country is already having a chilling effect at a time when speaking out about Israel’s crimes could not be more urgent.” Co-founder of Palestine Action Huda Ammori In Pictures via Getty ImagesToday’s action by Defend Our Juries is part of a significant escalation in protests which began following the Court of Appeal’s ruling in June, Defend Our Juries said.The relevant court hearings at Westminster Magistrate’s Court had been adjourned, according to the Met, but Defend Our Juries pushed ahead with the protest.Ahead of the demo, the Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine said: “The law is clear. Expressing support for proscribed organisations is a criminal offence and anyone doing so can expect to be arrested,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine said.“There are any number of ways to express views on the humanitarian situation in Gaza or on Israeli military action that don’t involve criminality.Police officers and demonstrators outside Westminster Magistrates CourtGetty“Doing otherwise is an intentional decision and one which has a detrimental impact on the public, court staff, victims and witnesses attending court, and those trying to go about their lawful business in the local area.”A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said: “We had hoped to see a different response from the Met police today, but yet again they are embarking on making hundreds of arrests of regular people who refuse to do nothing as the judiciary criminalised those who act to save lives as terrorists.“These arrests, like that of thousands of others, 1,855 of whom were listed as needing to appear in court today, are an assault on our democracy, our civil liberties and our moral obligation to step in to prevent genocide.“We urge the new PM to stop this insanity, at a time when there is so much positive work to be done in our country, Andy Burnham needs to put a stop to huge sums of taxpayer money being used for these arrests and prosecutions that the public at large do not support.”