London police arrest 523 people at protest over Palestine Action ban

Palestine Action accuses Britain's govt of complicity in Israeli war crimes in Gaza

Reuters

Published April 12, 2026

Police officers detain a protester at Everyone Day, a mass vigil and sign-holding event in Trafalgar Square organised by Defend Our Juries to demand the lifting of the ban on Palestine Action, in London, Britain, April 11, 2026.— Reuters — Police officers detain a protester at 'Everyone Day', a mass vigil and sign-holding event in Trafalgar Square organised by Defend Our Juries to demand the lifting of the ban on Palestine Action, in London, Britain, April 11, 2026.— Reuters

Police said on Saturday they had arrested 523 people at a protest in London's Trafalgar Square opposing Britain's banning of the Palestine Action group.

London's Metropolitan Police said in a post on X that people were arrested for showing support for a "proscribed organisation".

The gathering was the first since London's High Court ruled in February that a ban designating the pro-Palestinian group as a terrorist organisation was unlawful. UK Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood has been granted approval to appeal the ruling.

Lawmakers banned Palestine Action — which accuses Britain's government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza — under anti-terrorism legislation last July after some members broke into a Royal Air Force base.

Israel has repeatedly denied any abuses in its war in Gaza.

During Saturday's demonstration, placard-holding protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves and waving Palestinian flags, sat on the ground or on camping chairs.