“Police detain almost 900 at Parliament Square protest, citing abuse and violent clashes”
The Metropolitan Police made nearly 900 arrests during a large pro-Palestine Action rally in London, the highest number of detentions at a single protest in decades.
The demonstration, held in Parliament Square on Saturday, saw protesters carrying signs declaring opposition to genocide and support for the proscribed group Palestine Action. Police said 857 people were arrested under anti-terrorism legislation, with another 33 detained for separate offences.
The force described facing organised resistance that escalated into violent confrontations. According to a statement on Sunday, officers were subjected to “an exceptional level of abuse,” including physical assaults such as punches, kicks and spitting, as well as missiles being thrown. Seventeen people were arrested for attacks on officers, compared with six at a similar rally in August.
Images from the scene showed scuffles as police used batons and carried away demonstrators. Defend Our Juries, which coordinated the protest, rejected the police’s characterisation. The group accused the Met of exaggerating violence, insisting the crowd had been “entirely peaceful” before officers intervened.
Palestine Action has been banned since July, after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the UK’s largest airbase, damaging military aircraft. Parliament subsequently approved its proscription, placing it in the same category as groups such as al-Qaeda, Islamic State and several neo-Nazi organisations. Supporting or belonging to a banned group carries a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The group is pursuing a judicial review against its proscription, but the Home Office recently won permission to challenge a High Court ruling that had allowed the appeal to proceed.
In anticipation of the protest, counter-terrorism officers arrested six organisers on suspicion of encouraging support for a proscribed group, an offence under section 12 of the Terrorism Act. Defend Our Juries had urged participants to resist police instructions by “going floppy” when detained and refusing to provide identification to qualify for street bail, a measure that can avoid overnight custody.
Police confirmed that more than half of those arrested under terrorism laws on Saturday were taken into custody for processing.
Among those detained was Steve Masters, a former RAF serviceman, who said he had been arrested for holding a placard in support of Palestine Action. He criticised the government’s move to outlaw the group, arguing that it undermined the seriousness of terrorism legislation.
The Home Office has not commented on the arrests.
Separate demonstrations also took place outside Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, where around 70 people joined a smaller show of support for Palestine Action. Police Scotland reported three arrests: two men aged 67 and 82 on suspicion of terrorism offences, and another man, 63, in connection with alleged hate crime violations.
The scale of arrests in London highlights the intensity of the government’s crackdown on pro-Palestine Action demonstrations. At an earlier rally on 9 August, 532 people were detained, including 522 under the Terrorism Act. The latest figures far exceed that total and suggest escalating tensions between authorities and activists.
For now, the standoff looks set to continue, with campaigners vowing to fight the ban in court and police making clear they will treat any show of support for the group as a serious criminal offence