London police arrest 212 people at protest over Palestine Action ban

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

Reuters

Published April 11, 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 212 people at a protest in London's Trafalgar Square opposing Britain's banning of the Palestine Action group.

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.

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.

London's Metropolitan Police said in a post on X that they were "continuing to make arrests where people are showing support for a proscribed organisation".